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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25110412">(Maybe) I'll See You in Another Life</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/fors_manus/pseuds/fors_manus'>fors_manus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Castlevania (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And so this happened, Canon-Typical Violence, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Past Rape/Non-con, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Wolf Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya, i binge watched the series in two days and my heart said no, therefore over 20k words were written for the wolf alucard fans, we only had wolf alucard for one scene and i had to change that</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 07:40:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,614</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25110412</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/fors_manus/pseuds/fors_manus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Sypha was the first to break the silence.</p><p>“I think I might try cleaning the castle today.”</p><p>“Why?” Trevor asked, eventually tilting his head to look down at her.</p><p>“I think…” Sypha trailed off, fingertips trailing across the scars which decorated the man’s torso, “I think it might help him. To see the castle how it once was before all this happened.”</p><p>‘To show that we’re here to stay, that we’re here for him.’ Sypha wanted to continue.</p><p>- - -<br/>Or Sypha and Trevor return to Castlevania to reunite with Alucard only to find a wolf instead.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Sypha Belnades, Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont, Alucard | Adrian Tepes | Arikado Genya/Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades, Trevor Belmont/Sypha Belnades</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>261</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>(Maybe) I'll See You in Another Life</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>When I wrote down an extensive 2500 word bullet points detailing what would happen in each scene of this fic, I never would've predicted the end goal being over 20k words of angst and comfort. But here we are!</p><p>I would like to thank my best online friend <a href="https://dracandnau.tumblr.com/">Agnes</a> who cheered me on the whole way through despite being just as concerned whenever I would update her on where the word limit currently was. You're a star and mean so much to me &lt;3</p><p>I would also like to thank my beta-readers, <a href="https://chihuannabe.tumblr.com/">Chihuannabe</a> and <a href="https://captain-maatkara.tumblr.com/">Captain Maatkara</a>, for taking on the incredible task of reading my work and taking time out of their day/s correcting all my terrible spelling or lack of pacing in certain areas. You're both amazing &lt;3</p><p>And I would also like to thank, you! The reader, for taking a chance on this long ass thing and thinking, "Well, might at least see if it's any good if they wrote that many bloody words for a show that's only going to break our hearts next season." I hope it's just as satisfying to read as it was to write it.</p><p>Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It had rained the entire way back from Lindenfeld to Dracula’s castle. It felt fitting, Sypha thought, that after so much death and destruction that the sun should not shine just yet. It didn’t stop their travels from being less miserable, however.</p><p>With there being so little left of the village for the pair to scavenge upon, their meals soon turned to that of just rainwater and stale bread, doing little to stave off their hunger. The search for sleep seemed just as impossible.</p><p>What little rest Trevor did get was now plagued with memories he’d usually dull with a swig or more of bad ale. And though Trevor was good at playing off his actions, it wasn’t hard for Sypha to catch on to how he spent most nights awake instead of asleep. After all, she wasn’t so different herself in terms of her current sleeping arrangements. They didn’t talk about it though, didn’t have to.</p><p>They experienced what was haunting them together, after all.</p><p>The Speaker hadn’t been sure what to expect when they would arrive back at the castle. A warm welcome to a castle restored was her first guess, one filled with big hugs and wide smiles which spoke more than any words could.</p><p>A nice hot bath was a close second, rinsing away the mud which somehow managed to coat her skin and clothes no matter how much it rained. And then a home-made meal, lovingly made and seasoned to perfection by company consisting of sharp wit and humour she never knew she would miss so much.</p><p>All of those things felt impossible to attain now as Sypha and Trevor finally pushed and walked through the doors, their knocks unanswered. A horrible pit of dread was stirring in their guts and they entered the dark hallway and continued through the castle with not a soul in sight.</p><p>“Alucard?” Sypha shouted through the many halls and stairways surrounding the two. Looking around, it felt as if everything was just as it was when they left months ago. No. It was <em>exactly</em> how it was, rubble and blood stains still scattered everywhere. The only addition made was the layers of dust covering every surface, cobwebs taking up more space than one would think possible.</p><p>“It looks deserted,” Trevor said, as if reading her mind. “What in the bloody hell happened while we were away?”</p><p>Neither of them had said anything when the view of the staked corpses had come into view. The bodies were torn by the wilderness surrounding them, eyes pecked by birds clean and chunks of skin bitten out of to reveal tendons and bone. They were still fresh however, enough so to see tan skin and faces young with throats cut so deep and clean that nothing could have saved them from the inevitable end.</p><p>To see them displayed so gruesomely reminded the Speaker of stories she was told long ago by her people, of how Dracula would display examples of those who tread too far into his territory by staking them on the outskirts of his home. Dissuading any person from getting much closer. Placed there as a warning.</p><p>Sypha knew of only one individual that didn’t take the hint all those years ago.</p><p>“Alucard! The fuck are you, you prick?!” Trevor bellowed up a staircase. “Trevor!” Sypha hissed, spinning on the spot to catch him with a glare only to be responded with by a shrug.</p><p>“What? The asshole is obviously here somewhere.”</p><p>Sypha’s arms gestured violently at the excuse. “And <em>insulting</em> him is the way to get his attention?”</p><p>Trevor scoffed, kicking away a broken piece of wood sheepishly as he followed after her, “Never said it was a smart idea…”</p><p>Though the pair had stayed in the castle for a few days after defeating Dracula, many of the levels and rooms still remained a mystery to them as they meandered through the halls. If they were going to find Alucard, then the best plan would be to start with the familiar territory before trekking into the unknown.</p><p>It came as both a delightful surprise and a slight relief to see the kitchen in a better state than the rest of the castle, showing that some signs of life had been here at least. The room still came off as barely used or passed through, but Sypha could see where an attempt at cooking or cleaning had been made.</p><p>What neither of them had been expecting when entering the room were the dolls.</p><p>Staring at them incredulously, Sypha approached them. “Trevor, come look at this.” Sypha whispered, gently picking up and cradling the doll which looked an awful lot like her. Brushing off and blowing away the few specks of dust which covered the doll’s hair, Sypha inspected the doll with a tightness in her throat.</p><p>Hearing the man come to her side, Sypha heard him let out a confusion hum as he plucked up the other doll, turning it over in his hands. “The hell is this?”</p><p>“I think they’re meant to be us.”</p><p>Holding the creation gently, Sypha smiled as she admired the handiwork put into it. “I admit, it’s odd to see a version of myself made of straw with spoons for arms and ladles for legs but…”</p><p>She traced her fingertips over the fabric, the dust on them showing they had been made a while ago. But why would Alucard make such a thing in the first place?</p><p>“Hello Sypha!”</p><p>Looking up, Sypha watched in disbelief as Trevor held the doll version of himself in front of her face, using his fingers to make the spoon arm wave as he spoke in a high-pitched voice.</p><p>“The name’s Trevor Belmont,” the doll continued, doing an exaggerated bow before flapping its arms back and forth, “the man of your dreams-!”</p><p>“You’re such an asshole.” Sypha snorted at him, shoving her hand into Trevor’s face to push him away from her. “Oh-!”</p><p>The two watched as the button acting as an eye for the doll Trevor clattered to the floor, doing a single ring before rolling to a stop.</p><p>“Ah, shit.” Trevor swore, reaching down to pick it up. “Now it just looks even creepier.”</p><p>“You don’t mean that.” Sypha retorted, taking the Trevor doll out of his hands to return to the shelf and placing the missing button between them to fix later.</p><p>“Sure, I don’t.”</p><p>Trevor stretched his arms up to cradle his head, walking to the door and leaving the room with a relaxed swaddle. Rolling her eyes, Sypha turned to follow before pausing, glancing back to the dolls.</p><p>‘<em>How long ago had these been made?</em>’ she wondered, raising a hand to stroke the scar above the doll Trevor’s face. ‘<em>Did you truly miss us this much?</em>’</p><p>“Sypha!”</p><p>In an instant, Sypha ran out of the room, running down the hall where she heard Trevor’s voice coming from. Rounding a corner, she came to a sudden halt when the familiar turned figure of the voice appeared in front of her.</p><p>“Trevor? What’s wrong?”</p><p>Walking up to his side, Sypha stared at his face and immediately recognized the tension it held. Where the moon was held high in the sky fell its rays of lights between the long windows of the hallway, and as she turned her gaze to stare down it, Sypha froze at the sight of a large white wolf. Its fur was matted and dirty, and though thick, she could easily see how thin it was. Its teeth were bared and snarling, stance wide and proud despite the state it was in. Its eyes… its <em>eyes</em>.</p><p>“Trevor… it’s-“</p><p>“Alucard.” The man finished for her, though his battle stance remained the same, hand twitching for the whip on his belt.</p><p>The wolf in question continued to growl, as if the two’s realization of who he was meant nothing.</p><p>“Alucard,” Sypha repeated, walking towards him slowly with hands held peacefully in the air, “it’s us, your friends. Don’t you recognize us?”</p><p>“Sypha, don’t get too close-!”</p><p>“Don’t get too-? This is our <em>friend</em>, Trevor!” Sypha snapped back, turning her head back to the wolf. “Alucard please, tell us what happened. Who were those people outside? Are you injured? Let us help you.”</p><p>With each sentence made, Sypha slowly made her way forward with open arms, slowly reaching out.</p><p>‘<em>What did they do to you? How can we make it better? Did you miss us as much as we missed you?’</em></p><p>In an instant, the growling transformed into a large and aggressive bark, causing Sypha to gasp and leap away as if she were bitten instead.</p><p>“Alucard!” Trevor swore, coming to her side in an instant and pulling her away from the wolf, “That’s enough!”</p><p>The wolf froze, face falling from what was once a wild beast into an expression of shock. With gritted teeth, Trevor watched as their friend stepped away, falling into the darkness, and disappearing before them.</p><p>“What the hell…” Trevor murmured, looking into the shadows before looking down at Sypha who was gripping his shirt tightly. “Hey…” he whispered gently, cradling the back of her head.</p><p>“Something happened here, Trevor.” Sypha trembled, tears slowly falling down her face and starting to soak the front of his shirt, “Something horrible and we weren’t here.”</p><p>Trevor froze, fingers caught between strands of her hair before pulling her closer, pressing his lips against her forehead and staring into the darkness which once held their friend as Sypha continued to cry.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>One would think that when given a bed made of the finest and softest material, even the most insomniac individual would pass out immediately. After spending so many nights cramped in the back of the wagon or sleeping on the cold hard sopping wet ground, it came at a great frustration to both Trevor and Sypha that their night was spent tired but restless.</p><p>No words were passed between the two as the rays of the moon fell away to make room for the morning sun. They simply held each other, staring off into space wondering where it all went wrong.</p><p>Sypha was the first to break the silence.</p><p>“I think I might try cleaning the castle today.”</p><p>Her body protested against the very idea, but she knew that unless she did something to occupy her mind, then another fruitless night of sleep would await her.</p><p>“Why?” Trevor asked, eventually tilting his head to look down at her.</p><p>“I think…” Sypha trailed off, fingertips trailing across the scars which decorated the man’s torso, “I think it might help him. To see the castle how it once was before all this happened.”</p><p>‘<em>To show that we’re here to stay, that we’re here for him.</em>’ Sypha wanted to continue.</p><p>Trevor hummed, looking back up to the ceiling. “Fine, but breakfast first. I think I might vomit if I have to force another piece of bread down my throat.”</p><p>Sypha snorted, following the others movement to stare upwards, “About that… I don’t think the pantry here has been stocked up since we left.”</p><p>If asked, Trevor would deny to the end of his days the noise of absolute anguish which left him in that moment.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>It had taken longer than Trevor expected to find something to hunt. Decades of traveling on foot helped him learn the best way to track new footprints whenever his stomach desired something which wasn’t piss-tasting ale, even going as far to teach him the benefits of patience.</p><p>‘<em>Not that fangs would believe me.</em>’ Trevor thought with a scowl, pausing to adjust the weight of the deer which was slung over his shoulders. Looking up above the brim of the trees surrounding him, it wasn’t hard to notice the towering castle before him.</p><p>It was hard to believe that months ago it was once home to the individual which brought meaning to the Belmont family name. Now, it was home to the descendant of said man which he called his friend.</p><p>‘<em>If he’s still in there somewhere.’</em></p><p>Finally reaching the clearing, Trevor began he track back to the castle’s front door only to pause, eyes catching the new addition to the ground surrounding the Belmont Hold. Quickening his pace, Trevor stared in confused amazement at the contraption before him.</p><p>“The hell have you been doing here, Alucard?” he muttered, sliding the deer off and placing it on the ground to take a closer look.</p><p>It took a while before he understood how it worked, raising the bar which allowed himself to enter what he assumed to be an elevating platform. After spending a few minutes playing around with the ropes, Trevor eventually got a hang for the mechanism and slowly began to lower the platform to the bottom floor.</p><p>Exiting the contraption, Trevor took time to notice the lack of debris left over. Though the stairs and tapestry above were still torn and shredded beyond repair, it still looked fairly looked after compared to the castle. Making a start towards the door and swinging it open, Trevor let out a grumble when the only light he saw came from the sun behind him.</p><p>“Should’ve brought a torch… hm?“</p><p>Turning to leave, Trevor stopped at the sight of a lever protruding from the wall beside him. “That wasn’t there before.”</p><p>Reaching towards it to see what it would do once pulled, Trevor paused, pulling his hand away to scratch his stubble in thought. “Better not, it could be a trap… as soon as I pull that lever, this entire place could fall on me in a second. I should leave it, let Sypha take a look at it…”</p><p>Taking a wide step away to continue back through the doorway, Trevor paused.</p><p>“Fuck it.”</p><p>Reaching far and slamming the lever down, Trevor watched as multiple glowing lights appeared in his peripheral vision as soon as the lever was tugged. Turning to see where it came from, blue eyes widened as lights began to fill the Belmont Hold. Sparks of what appeared to be contained lighting were glowing from the candle holders which Sypha had filled with fire months ago, brightening the room around him.</p><p>As if in a trance, Trevor walked up to the balcony before him in awe, expecting to see shelves and bridges destroyed and treasures pilled on floors from the battle. Instead, the Belmont Hold looked as if nothing had ever disturbed it in the first place. New shelves were built and stacked with items, and bridges were newly built and replaced.</p><p>“You really outdid yourself on this one, you crazy bastard.” Trevor whispered, finding himself now down at the bottom of the stairs and walking through the shelves which held book after book ranging in colour and size. Passing a familiar looking glass cupboard, Trevor examined the skulls it held inside, the teeth each of them displayed giving away no hint that they were vampires.</p><p>Eyes stopping on one in particular, a heavy emotion settled in his gut as the size of it registered in his mind, memories of bloody shoes on pillars flashing before his mind in an instant.</p><p>‘<em>How young were you?</em>’ he wanted to ask. ‘<em>Were you hurt like them? Did someone take pleasure in killing you just as much as they were?</em>’</p><p>Fists tightening, Trevor continued to walk the bookshelves, noticing how clean and lacking in dust or cobwebs each of them were. How long had he spent down here? Wiping shelves and building replacements just so it could be repaired back to its former glory. Was the castle not important? Did Alucard not care for the home which he was left with?</p><p>‘<em>It would help if I could just ask him, the stubborn git.</em>’ Trevor glowered, turning around to start making his way back up the stairs to the exit. Passing a table, he stopped once again at a box which was left open and abandoned.</p><p>Frowning, Trevor walked to it, not recognizing the build of the box or the inscription on the lid. What was even more odd, was the lack of items it contained. Two ringed indents were made in the satin cloth and though only a small layer of dust had gathered on top of the fabric, Trevor knew it was abandoned here recently. Snapping the lid closed, Trevor placed the box back onto the table. Whatever it used to hold, it wasn’t here now.</p><p>Returning to the balcony, Trevor allowed himself a few minutes to stare out at the room around him, before eventually turning around and sliding the lever back up, the lights behind him dimming until they disappeared completely.</p><p>It took a few more minutes until Trevor found the strength to raise the platform back to the top, taking note of how much time had passed by the suns position above him. Tying the rope back how he found it, Trevor opened the latch and made his way back to where the deer was left only to pause at the figure laying down beside it.</p><p>The wolf- <em>no</em>. Alucard stared up at him, his tail sliding back on forth on the grass casually.</p><p>Trevor wasn’t sure how a person was meant to react in a situation like this. Kindness came as a rarity to him for decades of his life, and it was one thing for a person to cover the cost of a pint of ale and another for restoring and improving the entirety of the Belmont’s family legacy.</p><p>‘<em>How long did it take you?’</em> Trevor wondered.</p><p>‘<em>How many days did you spend repairing decades of my family’s last remaining gift to me?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>What happened which caused you to put all your time and patience into an old museum when your home was just next door?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>What happened when we were away?</em>’</p><p>‘<em>I missed-</em>’</p><p>“You didn’t have to do that.” Trevor said instead, heart pounding in his chest.</p><p>Alucard snorted in response, as if to say, ‘Of course I did you idiot, you honestly expected anything less from me?’</p><p>Kneeling down so he was face level with him, Trevor paused for several seconds, watching the wolf for any sign of the man he used to know. “Thank you.”</p><p>Alucard seemed to pause at that, tail stopping its movement as he watched Trevor with an intensity he knew only a vampire could hold.</p><p>“Thank you.” Trevor repeated, feeling as if a flooded gate inside of him had finally opened its doors. There was little the Hold could offer him, Trevor knew, being illiterate as he was. But he also knew that wasn’t the reason Alucard repaired it in the first place.</p><p>Raising a hand slowly, Trevor took in a breath as he slowly moved it towards Alucard’s head. Alucard’s body was larger than most wolves Trevor ever came across, whether that was the perk of being a vampire, he didn’t know. What he did know, was that compared to his hand it felt as if Alucard dwarfed him in size completely.</p><p>Watching the hand come slowly further and further towards him, Trevor froze at the familiar sound of warning growls which emitted from the dhampir in front of him. Taking his hand away, Trevor frowned before letting out a sigh, standing back up and moving to slide the deer carcass back onto his shoulders.</p><p>“It’s not a lot,” Trevor spoke aloud, waiting for Alucard to stand on all paws before walking back towards the castle, “but it should feed us for a day or two at least.”</p><p>Alucard said nothing, of course.</p><p>Trevor didn’t take it to heart as much as he expected to.</p><p>As the two grew closer to the castle, movement above caught Trevor’s eye as he looked up to see a waving Sypha on one of the ramparts connecting the many towers. Surrounding her were billowing sheets of laundry hung from makeshift washing lines.</p><p>“Well, she’s kept herself busy in the meantime.” Trevor casually remarked, hearing a small woof of acknowledgement beside him.</p><p>Neither of them said anything when they passed between the two staked bodies outside the castle doors. Trevor wanted to. He wanted to ask so many questions. Learn about what happened and what went wrong between the time they left and returned. He wanted to shake Alucard as if the very motion would bring sense back into the dhampir. He wanted to hear his voice.</p><p>But all he did was hold his breath against the stench before letting it go again once they entered the castle walls.</p><p>They’d be time for answers later.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p>“I’m thinking of taking them down.”</p><p>Night had fallen upon the castle once again, and at some point during the day, Alucard had left Trevor’s sights and hadn’t returned to their company. Trevor took that time to tell Sypha everything over dinner. About the Hold and how it was repaired, how well maintained it was compared to the castle, how Alucard hadn’t allowed himself to be touched…</p><p>Now, lounging in their room with the fire crackling in front of them, Trevor felt the eyes of Sypha moving from the book in her lap she wasn’t even reading to him relaxing in a chair.</p><p>“Taking what down?” She asked.</p><p>“You know what.” Trevor responded, cracking an eye open to meet her gaze. Sypha blinked, realization of who he meant catching up with her after being lost in her thoughts.</p><p>“What will you do with them once they’re taken down?”</p><p>Trevor shrugged, “Not sure yet. Maybe bury them. Don’t know who they were or what they did but…”</p><p>“Something happened.” Sypha finished, closing the book and looking at him fully. “Whoever they were, I feel like they’re connected to how Alucard is acting. Maybe… maybe taking them down would be a start.”</p><p>“Maybe…” Trevor repeated.</p><p>“How long would it take you to do?”</p><p>“Not sure.” Trevor said, watching as Sypha rose from her place on the floor and walked towards their bed, removing her cloak and undressing along the way until she was in nothing but her small clothes. “Half a day perhaps. Never buried a person on a stake before.”</p><p>Making a grabby motion towards him once under the covers, Trevor grinned before following after her, shedding clothes as he went before tucking himself in.</p><p>“I’ll see if I can take Alucard out for a walk tomorrow,” Sypha sighed, resting her head against Trevor’s shoulder, “I’m not sure how he’s going to react to seeing them gone but… I hope it’ll be a good one.”</p><p>“We’ll get him back, Syph. He’s an arsehole, but he’s our bloody arsehole.” Trevor promised, squeezing her waist in an attempt to reassure.</p><p>“Is he now?” Sypha hummed, eyes drooping as they drifted off to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>How Dracula managed to keep track of all the different rooms and hallways, Sypha will never know. She was almost certain that the hallway she was currently walking through, she had passed through three times before.</p><p>… Almost.</p><p>Coming to a stop at the bottom of yet another staircase, Sypha let out a loud and exhausted sigh. If she was going to have to tear down the castle brick from brick just to find him, then so be it.</p><p>“Alucard!” Sypha called out one again, hearing her voice echo through the multiple rooms around her. She had wondered at the start of her search if Alucard simply couldn’t hear her, but now she was starting to wonder if she was just being ignored.</p><p>“This hallway looks familiar… or maybe they all just look the same to me now…” Sypha wondered before pausing at a door. It was Alucard’s room.</p><p>“Now this, I do remember! Alucard, are you in there?”</p><p>Raising a hand, Sypha gently knocked on the door, pausing for a few seconds for a response before knocking once again.</p><p>“I was wondering if you would be interested in joining me for a walk? Trevor and I had passed over a bridge on our way over here and I was thinking about trying my hand at fishing.”</p><p>Hearing nothing but silence, Sypha frowned and reached for the door handle.</p><p>“Alucard, are you in-? Oh…”</p><p>Sypha froze. She had seen the room only a few times before; nights spent with Alucard by her side as they read tome after tome in front of the fireplace together till the morning came to greet them.</p><p>Now, it looked like something from a nightmare.</p><p>Choking on the smell of old blood, Sypha slowly entered the room, basket left dropped and abandoned at the door. The white fabric of the canopy bed was now stained with a splash of brown blood. As she approached, two piles of rotten blood were soaking the sheets of the bottom half of the bed. So much blood. Too much blood for a person to survive without.</p><p>The two bodies on stakes outside…</p><p>Looking up the bed, Sypha’s brows furrowed at the sight of two bracelets left just below the blood splattered pillows. Picking them up, one of Sypha’s hands covered her mouth. It was definitely silver.</p><p>“Oh, Alucard…” she whispered, tears prickling the corners of her eyes.</p><p>‘<em>What happened to you?</em>’</p><p>Returning the bracelets where she found them, Sypha picked up the basket and left the room, closing the door behind her.</p><p>It didn’t surprise her to eventually find Alucard in Dracula’s old study. He was sitting in the middle of the room, staring up at a portrait of a woman with pale skin and golden hair tied into a loose braid upon her shoulder. Sypha knew who she was immediately.</p><p>“She’s beautiful,” Sypha said, moving to stand beside him. It wasn’t the first portrait she’d seen of Lisa Ţepeş around the castle. As her search continued, Sypha came to realize that an amount of rooms which she entered included the occasional family or portrait painting. In this one, Lisa was seen cradling a bundle of white lilies, her face soft and warm with a delicate smile. It wasn’t hard to believe that this was the woman Dracula fell in love with.</p><p>“I was going to take a walk around the forest,” Sypha said after a few minutes of silence, looking down to meet Alucard’s gaze, “maybe try my hand at fishing. I was wondering if you would like to join me.”</p><p>Alucard blinked at her, gaze drifting back to the portrait of his mother before he bobbed his head as if nodding. Raising to a stand, Alucard padded towards the door and looked back at Sypha as if to say, “You coming?”</p><p>Sypha smiled.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>“You know, I thought this would be a lot easier to get the hang of…” Sypha huffed, raising the fishing line from the water for the umpteenth time and frowning at the hook as if it were the cause for the world’s problems. Beside her, Alucard let out a low boof, staring down at the swimming fish below them intensely.</p><p>Following the path both she and Trevor travelled on the other day, they eventually found the bridge Sypha remembered and staked their claim on it.</p><p>“That or maybe they’re just not biting!” she shrugged, leaning back before tossing the line back in, feet dangling below her.</p><p>Not many words had passed between them since leaving the castle, even now the two remained in companionable silence. Birds above them sang and flew by in sweeps and dives. The wind passed, swaying trees and brushing grass. The river flowed and sang, bringing a sense of calm to Sypha’s mind.</p><p>Taking in a determined breath, Sypha stared down at the river with narrowed eyes, her heels drummed on the old stone in anticipation.</p><p>Silence.</p><p>“Urgh! This is taking forever!” she groaned, throwing her head back in frustration and tilting until her body collided with the floor. Alucard snorted.</p><p>“Oh yes, laugh it up why don’t you?” Sypha snarked, pointing an accusing finger at the wolf who simply rolled their eyes in retaliation.</p><p>Standing up from his lounging position, Sypha watched as Alucard peered down at the rushing water, his tail flicking back and forth in concentration.</p><p>“What are you doi-?”</p><p>Alucard leaped.</p><p>Snapping up not a second later, Sypha watched in shock as Alucard landed in the river, a large splash spraying behind him making Sypha exclaim as the water caught her. Peeking her eyes open, Sypha watched in awe as Alucard shook his head, a large fish caught between his jaws and another flapping uselessly just below his front paws.</p><p>“Alucard, that was amazing!” she cheered as he tossed the catch in his mouth onto the bank, leaning down to snatch up the other fish from under his claws. Clapping as the wolf moved from the river side back to the bridge, Sypha held in a giggle as Alucard dropped the fish into the basket, his chest puffing out more so than before as if to stand proudly, tail moving in what could only be described as wagging.</p><p>Letting out a laugh, Sypha reached out on instinct to pet the wolf in front of her and froze, fingertips just brushing the ends of his fur.</p><p>Alucard froze as well, golden eyes wide as they stared at the hand just inches before him. A breath later and Alucard slowly moved, head bumping into Sypha’s hand as he stared at her, waiting for a response.</p><p>Smiling softly, Sypha placed the fishing line in her other hand to the side, tilting her body so it was facing Alucard fully. Raising her other hand slowly, Sypha’s heart pounded as Alucard allowed it to cup his head, fingertips slowly massaging into his fur in repetitive motions.</p><p>Standing abruptly, Sypha watched as Alucard moved closer to her before flopping onto the ground, head resting against her thighs and staring up at her intently. A day ago, the Speaker would have thought this progress to be impossible. Now…</p><p>Now Sypha smiled, hands returning to slowly pet and stroke Alucard’s flank. Letting out a deep sigh, Alucard allowed his eyes to close, relishing in a touch he knew in that moment he could trust.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Have you always kept it long?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Alucard paused at the Speaker’s question, getting a firmer grip on the dead night creature he was currently pulling and tossing it on top of the pile of others before responding. “Have I always kept what long?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Your hair.” Sypha responded, summoning a ball of fire in her hands, waiting for the other to move away before lighting up the pile. “You always have it down even when we’re in battle, does it not get in the way at all?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The dhampir hummed, twirling a strand of his hair between his fingers as he stared at the flames, “It’s never bothered me before. My mother always let hers grow and I suppose I never thought about it.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s very pretty.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“What’s pretty?” Trevor approached behind them, another night creature resembling a distorted bat slung over his shoulder, “Toss this in for me, will you? I don’t think I could get close to those flames without being caught on fire?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“And I won’t?” Alucard sniped back, but grabbed the corpse anyway, tossing it into the bonfire with a half-hearted swing.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Show-off…” Trevor muttered, crossing his arms.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Lousy git.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Have you ever had it braided?” Sypha interjected, looping her arms through both of theirs and tugging them back towards their camp as if they weren’t just fighting off a pack of demons. “I bet it’d look even prettier in a braid.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Whose hair are we talking about right now?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yours.” Sypha answered simply, before back slapping Trevor’s shoulder. “No, you dingus! Alucard’s!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ow, what? Mine could totally be braided!” the hunter pouted, hand coming up to brush through his hair. “… if they were super tiny and only in single strands… okay, I see your point now.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Finally, something both Belmont and I agree upon.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Shut up, ya dipshit.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Boys.” Sypha chuckled as the trio returned to sitting around the snuffed-out fireplace, the embers catching and returning to a crackling blaze at the snap of her fingertips.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“My mother braided it sometimes.” Alucard continued after a few minutes of silence, catching both Sypha and Trevor’s attention. Trying not the shuffle awkwardly under their gaze, he continued.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“She would braid hers every morning and it eventually just became routine that she would do mine as well.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Well then,” Sypha smiled, placing her hands together, “I hope that you’ll allow me to braid it one day.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Alucard let out a low laugh, “Maybe. Maybe one day.”</em>
</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p>
  
</p><p>Swinging the basket filled with fish, berries, and flowers back and forth, Sypha hummed a tune as she and Alucard made their way back to the castle. They had stayed out longer than she expected to, and though her hands had cramped up eventually from petting Alucard so much, Sypha couldn’t find a single regret in how the day was spent.</p><p>“Thank you for joining me,” Sypha smiled, catching her companion’s gaze, “this has been really nice. Maybe you’ll humour me in joining me for another walk sometime?”</p><p>The wolf huffed, turning back to the trail in front of him, his only response being a single nudge against Sypha’s side as they walked before trotting off ahead of her.</p><p>Reaching the edges of the forest, Alucard suddenly paused, staring off at something in the distance.</p><p>“Alucard?” Sypha frowned, speeding up to stand beside him. “Alucard, what’s wrong? Oh…”</p><p>She’d forgotten what the main reason was for taking Alucard out in the first place.</p><p>Out in the distance, Sypha watched as Trevor shovelled dirt from a pile and into two newly made holes. She didn’t have to tell Alucard who he was burying.</p><p>“He thought it would help,” she whispered instead, staring as the hunter brushed sweat off of his brow before continuing the labour. “He thought that maybe if they were buried, you would find some peace in it. Trevor is never one for words, you and I know this quite well,” Sypha chuckled, too many examples coming to mind to use, “but I think… I think this is his way of showing that he cares about you, Alucard. And that he’s here for you when you need him.”</p><p>Alucard said nothing, and for a moment Sypha wondered if he was even listening to her ramble on before he started to move, making his way towards the graves. Sypha waited a few moments before following.</p><p>Patting down the last pile of soil, Trevor let out an exhausted breath, slamming the shovel he found into the dirt beside him. He wasn’t a religious man, and though he fought monsters from the dead on the daily, Trevor knew deep down that he would return to enact revenge as one of them if some unfortunate soul made his headstone a cross. Still, it felt wrong to leave the two graves unmarked, and so two blanks of broken wood stood at the head of each of them, unnamed but not forgotten.</p><p>Hearing footsteps behind him, Trevor turned and watched as Alucard approached the graves, sitting down to stare at them in silence. Looking up to share a look with Sypha, Trevor scratched the nape of his neck awkwardly. The urge the say something felt overwhelming for him, but the hunter knew that this was delicate territory and anything which would come out of his mouth right now would fuck it right up.</p><p>Instead, Trevor looked back to the graves in silence as Sypha finally stopped to stand on the opposite side of Alucard. Seeing her reach into the basket, Trevor watched as Sypha placed a bundle of flowers between the two graves before standing once again.</p><p>Slowly, a low whine began to emit from Alucard which began to raise in hiccupped intervals, and Trevor’s chest throbbed when he realized he was crying. Reaching out slowly, Trevor gently stroked the top of Alucard’s head, unsure if the tightness in his throat was from finally being allowed to touch him, or because Alucard looked as if he barely registered it.</p><p>“It’s okay,” Sypha whispered softly, kneeling down to gently hug the wolf. Feeling Alucard bury his head against his thigh, Trevor breathed heavily as he continued to stroke Alucard’s head.</p><p>“We’re here for you.”</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>Not much changed in the castle after that. Alucard was still distant to the pair but would still make the occasional appearance to either Trevor or Sypha even if just for their company. He could be found bathing in the sun watching over Trevor as he chopped wood for the stove or would even act as a cushion for Sypha to rest on when reading aloud the many tomes left around the castle.</p><p>Dinner times had also started to become a shared experience. It was a bit odd at first, sitting side by side at the table with a lump of fur spread across their feet. But like most things, it slowly began to become a routine between the three of them.</p><p>On one of the rare days that neither of the two came across the wolf, Trevor offered to show Sypha the remains of the now improved Belmont Hold.</p><p>“It’s as if a battle never took place here at all!” Sypha had exclaimed, running between the bookshelves holding old artifacts and treasures, trailing her fingers against the many tomes surrounding her.</p><p>“And the lights!” she continued to gush, hanging over the sides of a balcony to stare at them, “Trevor, look at the lights!”</p><p>“I know, Sypha. I’ve seen them already!” Trevor snorted, leaning back in the chair he was lounging in.</p><p>“Oh, this is wonderful!” she continued, as if Trevor never spoke at all. “How long do you think it took him to repair all of this? Where did he even get the materials? How can a single lever turn on so many lights at once?”</p><p>“I don’t know Sypha! You’re the book crazy one, not me! If I were to guess, I would say that…”</p><p>But Sypha wasn’t listening to him. Taking random books from the shelves and flipping through them before placing them back and repeating the process, Sypha allowed herself to indulge in this. With the life or death pressuring situation on the horizon, this was all here for her! Every scratch of knowledge passed down through decades of family lineage from the one and only Belmont vampire killing family and it was right <em>here</em>.</p><p>Continuing to hear Trevor’s voice prattling on in the background, Sypha’s gaze flickered from item to item. Staring intently into a jar filled with green ooze that surrounded what looked like a mummified hand, admiring the reflection of a jade necklace propped on a display bust, raising an eyebrow at a questionable looking posed figurine. But nothing quite caught her attention like the box abandoned on the table.</p><p>Letting out a questionable hum, Sypha approached the box and slid it till it faced her. The build of it was old, the corners of the metal turning a darker colour than the rest and picking it up, Sypha realized that an inscription was displayed on top.</p><p>“Angel’s Binding, huh. What do you do?”</p><p>Flipping the lid open, Sypha frowned. There was nothing inside but two ring indents.</p><p>Funny, with the size of them, one would think that they could be bracelets…</p><p>“Trevor?” Sypha started, snapping the box closed and rushing to the stairs. “Trevor!”</p><p>“What? Jesus, Sypha, what?”</p><p>Holding the box out in front of her, Sypha’s eyes narrowed. “What was in this box?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” Trevor frowned, “this place is <em>huge</em>, Sypha. I wouldn’t be surprised if even some of my old family members couldn’t keep on top of remembering what was in here-”</p><p>“Okay, but <em>this</em> box specifically.” Sypha interrupted, shoving the box into his hands, and opening it so he could see inside. “I need you to <em>think</em>, Trevor Belmont. This is important.”</p><p>“Sypha, I know we’ve come a long way, but you’re finally starting to scare me.”</p><p>“Trevor!”</p><p>“Okay, okay! Jeez, you’re really serious about this.”</p><p>Looking down at the box, Trevor realised that it was the same one he discovered just days ago. Flipping it back and forth and tracing the inscription on top, Trevor frowned. “What does this say? Right here?”</p><p>Seeing where he was tapping, Sypha looked up at him, “Angel’s Binding. Why, is it important?”</p><p>“I think…” Trevor’s brows furrowed, “I think I might know what this was. Not a weapon but more of a… an interrogation device if you will, made of pure silver and specifically for vampires, obviously. I think it would be used to restrain someone once the bracelets would be attached but why… if it’s not in this box, then where are they?</p><p>“Come with me.”</p><p>Trevor’s head snapped up.</p><p>“What? Sypha-”</p><p>“Just follow me, Trevor. There’s something you should see.”</p><p>Taking the box from him, Sypha led the way out of the Hold and back to the castle in silence, mind running a mile a minute. Behind her, Trevor followed with a grim expression. He’d only known Sypha to be this serious about something once in their shared time, and the result of that had been a village left on fire.</p><p>Following her up the twists and turns of the castle’s interior, the two stopped in front of a door which caused the hunter to blink in surprise.</p><p>“Alucard’s room?” he asked, turning to look at Sypha just as she turned the handle door and pushed it open.</p><p>The bracelets were just where she left them. Walking up to the bed, Sypha picked them up and swung around to stare Trevor down, displaying them to him.</p><p>“Are these them?”</p><p>Trevor said nothing, eyes wide as he stared at the scene before him.</p><p>“Trevor,” Sypha choked, “Are these the Angel’s Binding?”</p><p>Eyes finally moving to the object in her hand, Trevor slowly approached her and examined them with a harrowed expression. Taking the box from her other hand, Trevor opened the lid so she could place them in. A perfect fit.</p><p>Trevor slammed the lid closed.</p><p>“Sypha,” Trevor murmured through gritted teeth, “nobody is able to trap a vampire with these unless they’re unconscious, trapped or vulnerable.”</p><p>“Then… those two people outside…” Sypha whispered, eyes blurring, “the wounds on their necks. They died here.”</p><p>“They wouldn’t have been able to get into the Hold without Alucard knowing. He <em>cried</em> at the graves I made for them… he knew them.”</p><p>Trevor felt the splinters from the box dig in his fingertips.</p><p>“He trusted them.” Sypha choked, tears dripping down her face. “They came into his bedroom and he <em>trusted</em> them.”</p><p>A horrible silence hung between the two of them.</p><p>“We never should have left.”</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>Despite the fireplace roaring in front of her, Sypha felt chilled to the bone. Abandoning Alucard’s room quickly after their discovery, Trevor had left to return to the Hold, mumbling something about taking the box back where it belonged. As if in a trance, Sypha had returned to their room with a sickness in her stomach, eyes puffy as she refilled the fireplace with wood and set it ablaze.</p><p>Blood stains. Little shoes. Torn sheets. Small bones. Silver. Monsters. <em>Trust</em>.</p><p>What the <em>fuck</em> happened to trust in the world?</p><p>Had Alucard been as taken to the strangers outside as she had been to the Judge back in Lindenfeld? Trusting them because there had to be <em>some</em> sense in all the madness surrounding them? Had they lied to him? Tricked him? <em>Used</em> him?</p><p>Feeling something nudge her side, Sypha snapped back to reality with a gasp and turned to see Alucard sitting beside her, a low concerning, “Woo,” sound leaving him.</p><p><em>‘I must look terrible</em>.’ Sypha thought with a huff. With red splotchy eyes, a runny nose and hair messed up from digging her fingers through it so many times.</p><p>Moving to lean against his side, Sypha wondered how long she had been sitting here lost in thought, staring at the flames in front of her. How long Alucard had been here trying to get her attention from the memories of an adventure which went so wrong.</p><p>“Do you remember…” Sypha started to say, clearing her throat after it came out more like a croak. “Do you remember when I asked if I could braid your hair?”</p><p>Hearing him grunt, Sypha continued, “I myself can’t grow my hair out like yours. We, the Speakers I mean, we have to make sure that we keep ours short so that none of us attract unwanted attention from the church.”</p><p>“I suppose I was always just slightly jealous. My parents… they weren’t there for me when I was young and whenever I would travel with my grandfather and the other Speakers, I would always see villages where mothers would brush their daughters long hair and braid them into such pretty patterns.”</p><p>Sypha laughed, “I kept meaning to ask you if you ever wanted your hair braided to help get it out of the way whenever we were in a fight. But it never seemed to…”</p><p>She trailed off, eyes drooping from exhaustion. “I don’t know, I suppose I just hope that you’ll still allow me to braid it one day…”</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>Alucard watched as Sypha Belnades drifted off to sleep, fingers curled into his fur and face still streaked with tears. When neither of the two showed up in the kitchen for dinner, he naturally became curious with their absence. Then concerned. And if Alucard would ever admit it, finally desperate.</p><p>Knowing the castle like the back of his hand, Alucard had scaled it high and low, and then the forest, and then the Belmont Hold (which was fruitless either way with the elevating platform being at ground height). It was obvious the two hadn’t left when he discovered the wagon horses remaining in the stables, their shrieks of fright and stomping hooves giving away their presence when Alucard suddenly appeared in front of them in a haze of red.</p><p>‘<em>Unless they left by foot,</em>’ a dark thought in his mind had said, ‘<em>leaving you all alone again. Maybe they were tired of coddling you. Maybe after all their trying to get you to talk to them, they gave up and abandoned you when all you were doing was staying in this form like a </em>coward<em>.</em>’</p><p>If the horses weren’t scared of wolves before, they were terrified now from the noise he made in response to that thought.</p><p>When he finally found Sypha crying all alone in the guest room, staring into the hearth with distant eyes, he had let out a low whine. It felt wrong to see her like this, her usual cheerful bubbly attitude replaced by cold stillness. Not getting a response after scratching the door to announce his presence, Alucard slowly entered the room to sit beside her instead, hoping the touch would help ground whatever space her mind was currently in.</p><p>Hearing dragging footsteps come from the hallway, Alucard waited as the scent of leather and pine grew thicker and thicker before halting at the doorway. Tilting his head to meet Trevor’s gaze, he blinked at the sight of unprepared pain which the man’s face displayed before it shuttered away a second later.</p><p>Seeming to notice Sypha’s sleeping form, Alucard watched as Trevor approached them quietly and kneeled down in front of them. His eyes were fixed on Sypha’s face, his brow pinching as he took in the damp cheeks and puffy eyes. Seeing him raise a hand to curl a lock of hair behind her ear, Alucard complied as Trevor picked her up gently, cradling her close and he moved her towards the bed.</p><p>Turning to watch him as he did this, Alucard waited as Trevor removed Sypha’s sandals and tucked the duvet over her gently, repeating the same process to himself.</p><p>Alucard watched as the two settled together, ear twitching as Trevor wrapped an arm around Sypha’s waist and pulled her close to him.</p><p>It was obvious, of course, inevitable really. Whether fate had a part in playing or not, the result of Trevor and Sypha coming together felt expected. They were made for one another, the right match of both chaos and comfort fitting each other perfectly.</p><p>Alucard waited a few more moments before turning to leave the room.</p><p>“You know…” Trevor’s voice spoke from the dark, making him pause. “I bet there’s enough room in here for three people if you wanted to join.”</p><p>He froze, Trevor saying nothing more as seconds passed in silence, the only sound being the crackling of firewood and the occasional howl from the wind outside.</p><p>The door was right in front of him, left ajar and perfect for him to just walk through and escape. He had no obligation to stay, no reason to intrude on what they currently have. No excuse to invade their bubble and ruin it with his problems. But… he wanted to.</p><p>This selfish, disgusting, vile part of him wanted to lie on that bed. Wanted to pretend that they never left, that what they have was open for him too. Maybe, maybe. Maybe he could be selfish. Just for one night.</p><p>Trevor startled as Alucard leaped onto the bed, the mattress dipping below him at his feet. Avoiding his bewildered look, Alucard began to pace, turning this way and that before finally collapsing. Flickering his golden eyes open, they caught steel blue as he finally settled in place, letting out a sight before closing them.</p><p>The last thing he saw was Trevor’s smile before the darkness took him over.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>From all the complaints thrown at him about his lack of personal hygiene, Trevor Belmont knew to appreciate a good bath when it was handed to him. It wasn’t his fault that when traveling on the road with nothing but the clothes on your back and the weapons you wield, that using nothing but cold fresh water was his only option of cleanliness. One also couldn’t blame him for not partaking in the activity as much as the other person during the cold winter months. A man could only handle dipping his balls in freezing cold depths so many times.</p><p>But a steaming warm bath with multiple soaps and oils to choose from all at their fingertips? Trevor enjoyed any form of luxury however it came to him.</p><p>“Mm, that was so nice!” Sypha said as a way of announcing their return from the baths, hair damp and body covered with a towel. Holding up his own around his waist, Trevor snorted at the sight of Alucard lounging on their bed, doing nothing more than opening his eyes to watch them enter.</p><p>“Who knew that something as simple as metal pipes could heat up that much water at once? It’s ingenious!” she continued, darting towards their travel bags to look for a fresh pair of clothes. “Oh Alucard, you should have joined us. It was bliss!”</p><p>“Uh no, absolutely not.” Trevor snorted, digging a hand through his own bag, “I absolutely refuse to bathe with a dog. I don’t have a lot of rules in my life, but that is definitely on the list somewhere.”</p><p>Snapping up from his position, Alucard let out a loud boof of protest, eyes narrowing.</p><p>“Yeah yeah, say what you like! But I know for a fact that as soon as I dried off, you would stand right into front of me, dripping wet, and shake it all off just to spite me.”</p><p>Raising a brow, Alucard snorted before looking away. Definitely not a sign of disagreement to the very idea.</p><p>A loud noise of annoyance broke the two apart as Sypha tossed her bag back onto the floor, stropping over to the bed and sitting down. “I don’t have any more clean clothes.” She pouted miserably.</p><p>“Oh, boo hoo,” Trevor replied, digging out his wrinkled shirt, “just wear what you were wearing earlier.”</p><p>“But those haven’t been washed in days, Trevor! I knew I should’ve cleaned them when doing the laundry and- hey! Don’t you dare think about wearing that shirt, Trevor Belmont! It’s stinky as hell!”</p><p>“What-? It’s not stinky at all, it’s completely fi-!” Holding the shirt up to prove his point by sniffing it, he gagged not a second later, pushing it away from him whilst pinching his nose.</p><p>“Yeah, no. It reeks, you were right. Again.”</p><p>Heaving breaths like laughter, Alucard stood up from the bed and stretched, jumping down to leave the room.</p><p>“Okay, well, even I can say that the smell wasn’t so bad that he had to leave.” Trevor grumbled as he stared at the shirt, debating if it was worth putting on again after bathing so recently.</p><p>Hearing a huff come from the door, the pair looked back to see Alucard returned and staring at them impatiently. Nodding his head back and forth from the room to the hallway, the dhampir turned tail once again and left.</p><p>“I think… he wants us to follow him.”</p><p>Sharing a quick glance, Trevor and Sypha shot up from their positions to catch up to their friend; readjusting their towels as they went. Following Alucard through the castle, it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the desired room. Lightly pawing at the door, Sypha took the hint and reached for the door handle to turn and push it open.</p><p>It revealed another bedroom, not one Trevor nor Sypha had ever seen before. A large double bed was pushed up against the wall and nearby it stood a desk, papers with scribbles and drawings of different herbs or parts of the human body covering each one. Compared to the other bedrooms, this one felt more lived in, almost as if it used to be-</p><p>“This is your parents’ room.” Sypha thought aloud, stopping in front of yet another painting which was hung beside a bookcase.</p><p>It showed three figures which Sypha recognized immediately. To the right was none other than Vlad Dracula Ţepeş. But unlike the rageful terror she faced months ago, this one showed him in a different light. His eyes were soft and loving as he stared at the other two in the portrait, one arm wrapped around a smiling Lisa Ţepeş, and the other hand resting on the shoulder of what appeared to be a young Adrian Ţepeş. Like his mother, his golden locks were pulled from his face and tied into a braid.</p><p>They looked happy.</p><p>Hearing the scratching of claws against wood, Sypha turned to watch as Alucard caught his paw on one of the wardrobe doors, swinging it open to reveal a space filled with an array of colourful dresses.</p><p>“Oh…” Sypha breathed, walking towards the wardrobe and admiring each one, “These are beautiful. They were your mother’s, yes? Are you absolutely sure it’s okay if I just…?”</p><p>Alucard’s tail thumped on the floor, letting out a woo of confirmation. Turning away from her to yet another closed wardrobe, Trevor intervened as Alucard began the same pawing process and swung open the doors. Inside were a wide variety of pants and shirts ranging from black, to grey, to white.</p><p>“And I’m assuming, these were your father’s.” Trevor said, placing his hands on his hips at the display. The hunter hummed, scratching his newly shaved stubble, “There has to be some irony in this somewhere. A Belmont in Dracula’s clothing. What would my family think of me now, wearing the clothes of our sworn enemy?”</p><p>“Oh, hush, would you?” Sypha replied, taking out each dress to compare them before deciding on a light green one. “They’re clothes, and even better, they’re clean!”</p><p>“Well, you can’t argue with that logic.”</p><p>Taking the hint that they were about to start changing, Alucard began walking to the door to leave, only stopping at Sypha’s call for his name.</p><p>“Thank you.” She said softly, holding the dress tightly as he turned to leave the room.</p><p>“It’s… a little big.”</p><p>Turning back to Trevor, Sypha snickered as the black shirt he pulled on dwarfed him, the cuffs just reaching his fingertips and the hem nearly passing his kneecaps. The trousers fitted him better, though the ends were rolled up.</p><p>“You could ask but I’m sure Alucard wouldn’t mind if we resized them to fit you better.” Sypha suggested, dropping the towel to begin putting the dress on. “How do they feel otherwise?”</p><p>Trevor shrugged, tugging at his sleeves. “Good, comfy. Still weird. You?”</p><p>Hearing a delighted laugh, Trevor watched as Sypha spun in place with her arms reached out, the dress picking up speed and floating in the air as she turned.</p><p>“I love it! What do you think, does it fit me okay?”</p><p>Staring as she began to pat down the sides of the dress, Trevor’s voice caught not for the first time as he admired her. The shade matched her beautifully, a light green which complimented her hair colour and somehow made the shade more prominent. The sleeves were short, with the ends of the dress just passing below her knees.</p><p>She looked angelic.</p><p>“You look good.” Is what came out instead.</p><p>Huffing, Sypha smiled at the face Trevor was pulling, his cheeks glowing an impressive red as she marched up to him.</p><p>“<em>Just</em> good?” Sypha asked, taking one of his sleeves and rolling it as she stared the man down.</p><p>“Yes. I mean- no! Not good. Not <em>just</em> good, I mean! You look really good. Like, really, really good. Oh, Jesus…”</p><p>Trevor pulled away, scratching the back of his neck as Sypha laughed. Pulling him back in, Sypha smiled gently as her arms draped around his neck, leaning in close.</p><p>“You’re not too bad looking yourself, handsome.”</p><p>The kiss was soft and gentle, and it was only at this moment that Trevor realized it had been way too long since he last held Sypha in his arms like this. Wrapping them around her waist, he sighed gently into the kiss, allowing it to melt the stress of everything away at least for just a moment.</p><p>Neither of them seemed to notice the sounds of paw prints pausing outside the room, before turning around and retreating down the hallway.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>It had taken Trevor an embarrassingly long time to understand how the stove worked. Having been used to the classic pot on top of a fireplace for so long, entering the world of extreme science via Dracula’s castle had left him in both a state of mistrust and awe.</p><p>There were also only so many circumstances the term: it’s scared of you more so than you are of it, could be related to a situation. Especially if the situation included an inanimate object.</p><p>But if there was one word which defined Trevor Belmont to the bone, it was stubborn.</p><p>Nowadays, cooking had become less of an experience of life or death and more an enjoyable pastime. And though recipe books had been supplied on top of the drinks glass shelf, the lack of pictures inside made it impossible for Trevor to stretch out his culinary taste.</p><p>Therefore, some nights just became a team effort. Where Sypha would read out the instructions and sometimes try to teach the hunter certain words along the way as the pair worked. It took some time, and though Trevor rarely picked out recipes to try, his memory from how he made meals in the past kept fresh in his mind.</p><p>Tonight was no different, a mixture of techniques coming from past experiments made during his travels on the road whilst others coming from recipes found and repeatedly read out by Sypha. Stirring the chopped vegetables and potatoes in the pan, Trevor let out a happy sigh as he removed the slow cooker from the oven to check on the venison shanks.</p><p>Hearing Alucard take in a deep breath behind him, Trevor chuckled. “Don’t get too excited fangs, they’re not quite done yet.”</p><p>Alucard huffed, resting his head back between his paws as he stared at Trevor working from underneath the table. The kill had been a team effort from earlier in the day, Alucard deciding that with the night creatures becoming more active during the day than the night, it felt safer to accompany either Trevor or Sypha whenever they went through the forest. It had felt good to fight by Trevor’s side again, even if it was just for a simple hunt.</p><p>The fact that a good hearty meal came out of it made it all the better.</p><p>As Trevor whistled a tune unknown to the dhampir, he closed his eyes and began to wonder if they would have to go to the Hold once again to remind their other companion to join them. It was understandable to lose track of time when underground and surrounded by literature from generations of knowledge (even if some of it was pure stereotypes and paranoid nonsense). Even he had lost passage of time when repairing the Hold back to its original form.</p><p>Still, Sypha was known to return from her findings on time for dinner more so than getting lost in them, and even if she did, Alucard found no trouble in stretching his legs to go find her before-</p><p>
  <em>Blood.</em>
</p><p>Golden eyes flying open, Alucard leaped from under the table and froze, breathing in deeply to catch its scent.</p><p>It was fresh blood, that much was clear. And despite himself, Alucard felt himself salivate at the scent of it. Electric and sweet as honey, rich and thick and familiar and <em>that’s Sypha’s blood she’s in danger she’s hurting bleeding there’s fighting outside she needs our help NOW.</em></p><p>Alucard snapped to look at Trevor and barked in panic, causing the other to jump and scowl at him.</p><p>“Now that,” he said, waving a wooden spoon at him, “is uncalled for. I’m as hungry as you are fangs, but that’s low even coming from you to beg before food is even put on the table.”</p><p>Alucard barked again, ramming into the hunter’s legs, trying to lead him away from the stove and towards the door.</p><p>‘<em>Sypha’s in danger, you idiot!</em>’ he wanted to scream. ‘<em>She’s hurt and alone and all you’re talking about is food!</em>’</p><p>“Hey!” Trevor startled, trying to avoid Alucard’s nudging. “What has gotten <em>into</em> you?”</p><p>‘<em>This isn’t working,</em>’ Alucard realized, wincing at the sound of pained grunts happening outside. ‘<em>New plan.</em>’</p><p>Jumping up at the shelf, Alucard snatched up the doll he made of Sypha and tossed it to the floor; sending a silent thank you to the woman for keeping them up there despite his past embarrassment at their discovery.</p><p>Barking again to cut off whatever explicit ramble Trevor was currently monologuing, the human paused to stare down at the doll and then back to him with pinched eyebrows. Picking it up, Trevor frowned.</p><p>“Sypha? What’s wrong with…” he trailed off. Finally seeing the desperation in Alucard’s eyes, Trevor placed the doll on the table and snatched up his whip.</p><p>Running down the hallways, Alucard wished not for the first time that he would just simply turn back to his original form to shimmer the two of them to the main hall quicker. It would be easier, it would save time, but Alucard knew that he couldn’t. Taking the stairs in bounds, the sounds of fighting outside came through clearer. Commanding the main doors to open, Alucard rushed outside to join the battle, Trevor just steps behind him.</p><p>There were four of them. Each one bigger than the last and just as ugly. Immediately, Alucard’s eyes searched for Sypha, catching sight of the green of her new dress just as a spray of fire left her fingertips to rain upon the demon that was charging her. Shrieking, the night creature turned away from the magician, half its face burned away. Staggering upon its hooves, its likeness being that of a minotaur with large horns protruding from its forehead and the upper torso of a man, it pulled away from the battle to bat at the flames.</p><p>Taking over from where they left off, another night creature went to leap at Sypha. This one was more bird than man, with a long distorted neck which housed a sharp beak, it’s arms widening to reveal wings instead as it pushed off the ground to raise its feet in her direction, talons shining in the afternoon sun.</p><p>Alucard was there in an instant. Leaping from the ground, Alucard attacked the creature with a snarl of anger. It squawked in surprise as they tumbled to the ground away from Sypha, the dhampir recovering quicker and diving back onto it to dive his claws into it’s back. Screeching in pain, the creature flapped its wings in an attempt to dismount the wolf which resulted in Alucard simply latching onto one to tear at, feathers getting caught in his teeth.</p><p>Feeling a sharp kick of talons catching against his hind legs, Alucard winced at the pain before ripping his head in a direction and tearing at the wing, hearing the sounds of bones breaking.</p><p>“Alucard!” Sypha cried out in warning, suddenly appearing in front of him with hands filled with fire pointing down at the night creature. Taking the hint, Alucard released and leaped from the creature in time to avoid the blaze, the smell of burning filling his nose as the bird-like monster screeched its final breath before becoming a charred mass.</p><p>A few feet away, the remains of the minotaur were left crumbled on the floor, a large shard of ice protruding through its skull and another caught deep into its kneecaps.</p><p>Two down, two more to go.</p><p>Hearing the sounds of continued fighting, Alucard panted as he watched Trevor land the shaft of the Vampire Killer into the jowls of a large man-like serpent, sending it hurtling backwards.</p><p>Continuing the momentum of the swing, the hunter cursed as the other night creature leaped out of the way at the last second, this one resembling the towering form of a werewolf. Snapping its teeth at Trevor, the human rolled out of the way as the beast charged at him with claws extended.</p><p>Racing after it, Alucard pounced onto the werewolf as it straightened and turned to face Trevor again, sinking his teeth into its shoulder and taking a delight in how it roared in pain. Feeling its arms come around him, Alucard dug his nails into its back and attempted to balance in place as the demon began to thrash about, its nails digging into his skin and ripping out his fur in the process.</p><p>Catching one of the flailing werewolf’s arms with the morning star, Trevor Belmont tightened his grip as the metal wrapped itself around the limb, causing the demon to howl as its skin began to burst and bubble. Frantic, the werewolf reached back in a final attempt to dismount Alucard and took hold, sinking its claws into his shoulder blade and ripping him off, tossing him aside.</p><p>“You <em>bastard</em>!” Trevor cursed and yanked on the chain, feeling some satisfaction as the limb tore itself right off and causing the creature to scream in pain. Swinging the whip above him, Trevor sent it flying towards the werewolf to wrap around its neck, its only remaining arm sizzling as it tried to rip it off. In an instant, an icicle collided into the werewolf’s jugular, blood immediately spewing onto the grass and coating its dark fur.</p><p>“Behind you!” Sypha called out.</p><p>Hearing a hiss of rage, Trevor turned in time to see the serpent with its arms raised high, trident in hand pointing straight at him. Recoiling, the hunter could only watch as the weapon plunged its way towards him, only to clatter out of its grasp a second later.</p><p>Where its head had been was now rolling on the ground several feet away as the body fell and collapsed beside him. Where it once was standing was a familiar longsword which Trevor assumed to be its downfall. Remembering Alucard’s fall, Trevor turned around to see the wolf on his feet and staring back at him, fur stained with blood and panting deeply.</p><p>“Are you both alright?” Sypha asked, diminishing the flames in her palms which she was planning to use on the serpent had the dhampir not gotten there sooner.</p><p>“You’re asking us? Just seconds ago, you were facing four night creatures at once, by <em>yourself</em>.” Trevor said, tugging at the chain of the morning star causing it to easily pull away from the mess that was now an impaled and sizzled corpse.</p><p>“I was handling it.” Sypha shrugged, taking a step forward only to gasp in pain and clutch her leg, a red stain making itself visible against the green dress.</p><p>“You’re hurt,” Trevor realized stupidly, quickly attaching the whip to his belt and marching up to her.</p><p>Sypha huffed, batting his hands away. “I’m fine,” she insisted, “it’s just a scratch. Alucard, are you alright?”</p><p>Watching, Trevor grimaced as the man… wolf, whatever, boofed lightly in response, limping his way over to them. Sniffing intently as he did, Alucard caught the source of the blood smell on Sypha. Seeing the tear in her dress, it came from four claw marks on her upper right thigh and from the way the blood was spilling so frequently, it was a deep wound too.</p><p>“Fucking hell, Sypha, “I’m fine?” You can’t even walk for Christ’s sake. Come on…”</p><p>Helping her up the stairs to the castle with her arm pulled over Trevor’s shoulder, their trek continued for only a few steps before he got fed up with how long it was taking. Picking her up by her knees, Sypha protested loudly as Trevor began carrying her bridal style into the main hall, aiming for the laboratory.</p><p>“That cut needs treating as soon as possible,” was the hunter’s only response to Sypha’s threats as he set her down on the table, pushing the dress up to examine the wound better. “Fuck, it’s deep too. Stay here, I’ll try to find something to wrap it up with.”</p><p>Groaning in response and using her fingers to press down on the wound, Sypha sighed. “How is it that above all circumstances, it’s your bedside manners which finally makes you start acting like a gentleman?”</p><p>“Har, har,” Trevor responded, shuffling through drawers and tabletops for bandages or gauze. “Fuck you too. Only trying to save your leg from being amputated here.”</p><p>“There he is,” Sypha snorted, catching Alucard’s gaze as beads of sweat started to gather on her forehead. “I was starting to get worried for a second.”</p><p>Alucard said nothing, coming up to stand beside her and stare at the wound. Slowly, he started to growl and sneeze, pacing on the spot anxiously as his eyes changed from their golden hue and into a richer red.</p><p>“Alucard, what are you…? Oh fuck.”</p><p>Removing her bloody fingertips from the claw marks, Sypha soon realized what was making her friend so upset. Surrounding the wound, her skin had begun to inflame in size and flush an irritated red. Though she had just acquired it minutes ago, it looked as if it was already on its way to being infected…</p><p>“What the hell? Trevor!”</p><p>“What-? <em>Ow</em>, fuck. What!” came his reply, recoiling after stubbing his toe on one of the desks. Gently cradling her thigh, Trevor frowned at the sight.</p><p>“Oh, well… that doesn’t look good.”</p><p>Smacking his arm, Trevor recoiled and tried again.</p><p>“Which one of them got you?”</p><p>“I-I don’t know… the one which looked like a snake, I think. I was coming back from the Hold when it jumped me out of nowhere- fuck, this is really starting to burn!”</p><p>“Okay,” Trevor breathed, willing the panic inside him to settle. “Okay, okay. There’s gotta be a book here somewhere which can help us.”</p><p>They were in the house of Vlad fucking Dracula after all. If there wasn’t a book here to treat weird wounds, then where else were they going to get one?</p><p>Moving away from Sypha to the many bookshelves surrounding them, Trevor paused to stare up at them with dread. “Hate to be the bearer of bad news guys, but I still can’t read.”</p><p>Appearing beside him, Alucard began to scale the titles with a critical eye, leaping up every so often onto the shelves to get a better look before dismissing the find and continuing. Eventually, he let out a noise which sounded like a declaration of success, looking back at Trevor, and pawing at a large and worn blue volume.</p><p>“Ah, good. Bring it here.” Sypha beckoned with a wince.</p><p>Grabbing the book, the pair rush back to their injured companion and set it beside her to flip through, scouring the pages. Leaping onto the table, Alucard peered over her shoulder. Trevor could still see the wound upon the wolf’s shoulder where the demon had torn into to throw him off, his snow-white pelt turning into fresh shades of red.</p><p>‘<em>It’s typical,</em>’ Trevor thought, ‘<em>the only one out of the trio with no magical abilities or special genetics and I’m the one who got out of the battle unscathed.</em>’</p><p>He frowned. If he had just listened to Alucard maybe neither of them would’ve been hurt in the first place, if he had acted quicker, paid more attention. He’s a fucking <em>Belmont</em> for crying out loud, what would his father think-?</p><p>“Trevor!”</p><p>Snapping from his thoughts, Trevor stared at his friends who looked back at him with concern. He got the faint idea that this wasn’t the first time they had tried to catch his attention.</p><p>“Are you alright?” Sypha asked gently.</p><p>The hunter scoffed. “Me? Alright? I’m fucking peachy. What did you find?”</p><p>He was avoiding the question, and he knew that Sypha would nag him for it later. But that was for future Trevor to deal with. The poor bastard.</p><p>Eyes still showing her worry, Sypha continued. “I was saying that it shouldn’t be too hard to acquire the ingredients in this book for treatment. But if we’re going to do this, then it has to be now while I can still concentrate.”</p><p>Trevor frowned and stared closely at her face. “Why, do you feel weird? Lightheaded? Your cheeks do look rather flushed right now… Hey!”</p><p>Shoving a hand into his face, Sypha pushed the man away from her with a scowl</p><p>“You’re not helping, Trevor! Look, just find the ingredients and bring them over here so I can tell you what to do. Alucard, could you help him please?”</p><p>Bumping his head against her cheek, Alucard dropped down from the table and circled around to read the book again for clarification, letting out a snort. Catching Trevor’s sleeve with his teeth, much to his dismay, Alucard began to lead the man around the room to gather the ingredients. Once gathered, Trevor snatched up a couple of bandages and what appeared to be gauze along the way, piling them next to Sypha.</p><p>Taking note of how much worse she started to look in just the few minutes of searching, Trevor clasped his hand on top of her own and gave what he hoped was a reassuring smile.</p><p>“You’re going to be fine, Sypha. Alucard and I are with you all the way, isn’t that right, Alu-? Alucard? Alucard!”</p><p>Looking around the room for the wolf, Trevor just caught the sight of a bushy tail leaving the doorframe and called out, moving to chase after him.</p><p>“Where the <em>hell</em> do you think you’re going?”</p><p>“Leave him, Trevor!” Sypha protested, weakly grabbing his shoulders to hold him in place. Trevor didn’t like how easily he knew he could push her away at this moment. “Just… help me with this right now, alright? You can play cat and mouse later.”</p><p>“… Alright. Tell me what to do.”</p><p>Listening as Sypha read the instructions out loud, Trevor worked hastily to combine the ingredients into a remedy. He could count on one hand the amounts of times he’d had to rely on outside aid from a wound too deep to solve with a splash of alcohol and wrappings of an old shirt. Creatures have a nasty habit of getting all kinds of messed up shit caught underneath their claws, demons even worse with their particular appetite for human flesh.</p><p><em>God</em>, he needed a drink.</p><p>Hearing padded paw steps return, Trevor looked up from his first attempts at using a mortar with an accusation on the tip of his tongue, only to stop at the sight of a full bottle of wine being carried in Alucard’s jaws.</p><p>“I swear you have mind reading powers, I <em>swear-</em>”</p><p>“Alucard.” Sypha interrupted with a sigh of relief, raising her free hand to take the bottle from his mouth and examine it. Ripping off the cork with her teeth, the men watched in awe as the Speaker threw her head back and gulped at its contents, pulling away with a gasp and slamming the bottle on the table with a face of defiance.</p><p>“Is it done?” She asked, looking at Trevor.</p><p>With a nod, Trevor moved towards the table and began to prepare the bandages and gauze to apply in quick succession. Grabbing the bottle and hovering it above her thigh, Trevor took hold of Sypha’s hand and looked at her steadily.</p><p>“This is going to hurt like a bitch.” He said, not bothering to sugar-coat it.</p><p>Despite everything, Sypha let out a snort before interlocking their fingers and raising her other to rest on Alucard’s forehead.</p><p>“Let’s get this over and done with then.”</p><p>With a final nod, Trevor began to pour the alcohol over Sypha’s wound, gritting his teeth as she immediately began to cry out in pain and attempt to move away from him. Releasing his hand from hers to hold her leg down, Trevor worked quickly to cover the wound as much as possible. Feeling Alucard move beside him, the wolf pushed his front paws onto the table and shoved his head against Sypha’s chest, giving her something to hold onto as the pain continued.</p><p>Mumbling assurances over apologies, Trevor placed the bottle aside and quickly began to apply the poultice over the claw marks, grabbing the gauze and bandages and wrapping it up tightly. Moving away, Trevor felt his heart clench as he gazed at Sypha’s trembling form, head buried into Alucard’s fur and clawed hands holding on as if for dear life.</p><p>“Hey…” he said softly, moving into their space to wrap his arms around her. “It’s done, you did it. It’s okay…”</p><p>Still, Sypha’s trembling continued. Holding on to her, Trevor pressed a kiss into her hair and slowly stroked his hand up and down her back.</p><p>They could stay like this for a little while, they deserved that much at least.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>For the first time in weeks, dinner was a missed experience. Though the vegetable and potato roast ended up charred, the venison shanks were salvageable and smelt divine. It was just bad timing that despite all the effort put into cooking, any hunger Trevor might have felt had disappeared. And it appeared as if his companions agreed with him, the trio much preferring the idea of turning in early instead.</p><p>Therefore, it came as an unpleasant surprise to Trevor to be jostled awake by a heavy weight before the sun even touched the sky.</p><p>“Mm-wha-?” he smacked his lips. “What tss-it?”</p><p>Alucard smacked him in the face.</p><p>Snapping awake immediately to hold his assaulted cheek, Trevor glared at the wolf in his lap. “What the <em>hell</em> is wrong with you, are you seriously waking me up in the middle of the night now to purely start-“</p><p>Snapping his jaws at the other to cut him off, Alucard stepped off of Trevor to circle around the bed to the shivering curled up form of Sypha, whose whimpers Trevor could now register once his mouth was shut.</p><p>‘<em>Shit.</em>’</p><p>“Shit,” he repeated out loud, turning to hover his hands above her form. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, deciding that it would be better to watch over Sypha’s first night of recovery to make sure no fever took hold.</p><p>It seemed that Alucard had been doing his job for him instead.</p><p>“How long has she been like this?”</p><p>Alucard shook his head, tail twitching nervously beside him as he watched Trevor brush the sweaty curls away from Sypha’s forehead to check her temperature. It wasn’t until she began to mumble certain sentences that Trevor caught on to what was happening.</p><p>“She’s having a nightmare,” he sighed, taking one of her hands which was clenched into a tight fist and holding it gently.</p><p>“Sypha? Sypha, hey. It’s alright. Come on, it’s just a bad dream, you’re safe. I promise you…”</p><p>Repeating the same sentences over and over, Trevor watched as the pinch between Sypha’s brows began to smooth out and the tension in her shoulders started to release. The minutes passed by slowly, and at some point Alucard had moved from whatever invisible barrier he saw to laying head upon Sypha’s waist.</p><p>Hearing her breathing settle, Trevor let out a sigh of relief and banged his head against the headrest, somehow feeling even more exhausted now than before. Curling his fingers through Sypha’s copper locks, he ignored the whine Alucard let out, obviously wanting some explanation for what had just happened.</p><p>But the trouble was that Trevor didn’t even know where to begin.</p><p>Neither he nor Sypha had talked about Lindenfeld since leaving the village, coming to a quiet decision to deal with what happened on their own. It wasn’t healthy, and Trevor knew from past experience that keeping shit like this buried does nothing but make the heart harder. Turns you into a person you’d never thought you’d be.</p><p>A drunk. A self-deprecating idiot. A person who prefers to rile others up with snarky remarks instead of simply talking like a normal person.</p><p>Staring off into the distance, Trevor watched in the corner of his eye as Alucard rose from Sypha’s side, coming to collapse on Trevor’s legs and shoving his snout into his hands. It was freezing cold. If he were in a mood, he’d make the comparison to Sypha’s feet.</p><p>Playfully batting his snout in retaliation, Trevor groaned in disgust as the other sneezed wetly, making him wipe his hands on his pant legs before returning to thread his fingers through the fur of Alucard’s now bandaged back. Still, the dhampir did not push. His honey eyes staring at him with patience as Trevor began to try putting his thoughts together.</p><p>Talking had never been his forte, but glancing down as Sypha’s now peaceful form, Trevor just allowed himself to talk.</p><p>He talked about the places they travelled to and the people they met. How they helped fend off the few remaining demons left on the road with no master to return to. How they came across a small village called Lindenfeld which was home to a Judge they trusted too quickly and a cult that succeeded in doing the fucking impossible.</p><p>He talked about a large apple tree. About small rotting bones. Bloody shoes. Licking flames.</p><p>Trevor didn’t notice the tears rolling down his cheeks until his breath finally caught in his throat, cutting his sentence short.</p><p>Silence hung heavily over the pair of them as Trevor closed his eyes, willing the tears to stop flowing but refusing to remove his hands from Alucard’s fur to brush them away.</p><p>“I didn’t have anyone,” Trevor decides to continue, because why the fuck not at this point. “When the church burned down my home. I was 12 years old and forced to watch as my mother and father and sisters and brothers and… my entire life just gone, in an instant, up in flames. I had to deal with that shit all by myself and after we defeated Dracula, I thought… we thought that was what you needed too. To deal with it alone.”</p><p>Finally, Trevor looked away from the ceiling to stare at Alucard, whose head was now raised and staring at him intently.</p><p>“It was wrong for us to leave you behind, but we did it anyway and Alucard, we’re sorry. <em>I’m</em> so fucking sorry. No one should ever have to mourn alone, evil world-dominating fathers or no.”</p><p>Scurrying up the bed, Alucard laid down on Trevor’s chest and buried his snout against his neck, listening to the comforting sound of Trevor’s blood flow. Wrapping his arms around him, Trevor returned the embrace by pushing his tear marked face into Alucard’s shoulder, every essence of Belmont training screaming at him to push the dhampir away from his most vulnerable artery.</p><p>But Alucard was their dhampir, ancestors be damned.</p><p>Feeling the steady patterns of Alucard breathing rising and falling, Trevor closed his eyes and fell asleep, emotionally drained but heart lighter than it had been in weeks.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>It was thirst that awoke Sypha from her slumber. Her throat parched and dry and as she stretched to get her muscles moving, pain from her thigh seized her immediately, reminding Sypha of her most recent predicament. Massaging the area delicately, Sypha heard the loud rumbling snores from Trevor beside her and couldn’t help but smile despite the drool rolling down his chin.</p><p>The only thing missing was…</p><p>Sitting up in bed, Sypha looked around the room to see if Alucard had perhaps changed his resting place throughout the night, but not a single furred mound was in sight. Pulling the sheets away, Sypha winced as she rose from the bed, immediately changing her stance in weight before looking around the room more closely.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Letting out a huff, Sypha finally took note of the ajar state of the bedroom door and frowned. Taking one more glance at Trevor’s sleeping body, she carefully exited the room and began to roam the walls, the chill of the night air nipping at the skin her nightgown didn’t cover.</p><p>Having done this before, Sypha’s first destination in mind was Dracula’s old study. Pushing open the door to peer inside, Sypha frowned at its vacancy and closed it once again to continue her search. The kitchen was just as empty, and it was here that Sypha allowed her search to pause to retrieve a glass of water as she thought on where else her friend could be.</p><p>Had he perhaps gone out to the forest to feed? It was a question she had brought up with Trevor one morning before Alucard had joined their sleeping arrangements. Though she was no expert on the feeding habits of a vampire, Alucard had mentioned once before that the process of drinking human blood was more of a delicacy when not being acquired to replenish one’s strength. Whether the same goes for a dhampir, however, Alucard never went into much detail.</p><p>‘<em>Still,</em>’ she pondered, tapping her nails against the glass, ‘<em>his eyes had changed.</em>’</p><p>Draining the glass, Sypha left the kitchen and began her way back up to the bedroom through a shortcut she found the other day. It was only through being so lost in her thoughts that Sypha registered the shine of moonlight flooding the carpet floor in front of her coming from an open door. Walking up to it silently, Sypha recognized the room to be the one that Dracula had been defeated in, its state of mess just as she saw it last. Its only difference was the sight of Alucard sitting on the bed.</p><p>The familiar sight of long golden locks tumbled over his shoulders and hid his face in shadow as he stared silently at an object cradled in his hands. He was shirtless, and though the moon danced across his pale complexion like a glow, the sight of patterned burn marks across his arms and chest were still visible through the bandages Trevor had wrapped him with.</p><p>Sypha was unsure how long she had been staring, the sight of finally seeing her friend in his original form creating a bubbled mix of delight and uncertainty in her stomach. It was only after lightly rapping the wooden door with her knuckles that Alucard twitched, tilting his head slightly to acknowledge her presence.</p><p>Taking in his silence, Sypha entered the room slowly to stand in front of him. Looking down into his hands, Sypha realized the object to be that of a ring. It was golden, simple in design. It took her only a second to recognize it as the only thing that remained of Alucard’s father after being burned to a crisp.</p><p>Moving to sit beside him, wincing as she did, Sypha waited for a few moments before raising a hand to brush Alucard’s hair behind his ear, revealing his sombre expression. Though his eyes did not move to meet hers, Sypha sighed gently as she caressed his cheek. Alucard’s eyes fluttered before closing tightly, sinking into her touch as if it were the only thing grounding him.</p><p>Now sitting so close to him, Sypha’s eyes traced the new scarring which wrapped across his body, curling across his torso and arms, and even reaching past his trousers. Though Sypha had a vague idea of what kind of injury the Angel’s Binding would cause, it hurt even more to see its imprints left so visibly upon her friends’ skin.</p><p>“We found the room,” Sypha eventually said, breaking the silence. “Trevor and I both found the box where the bracelets came from when exploring the Hold.”</p><p>Seeing Alucard sink deeper and deeper into himself the more she spoke, Sypha gently but firmly held his hand whilst coaxing his eyes to meet hers. “Alucard,” she said, “what they did to you was… was monstrous. It was horrible, and unfair and-”</p><p>Her voice cracked, feeling her bottom lip beginning to tremble as tears pricked her eyes.</p><p>“It was not your fault.”</p><p>Moving her hands so they were now both holding his face, she swallowed deeply. “What they did was not your fault. Whoever they were, you trusted them. And they broke that to take advantage of you and that was <em>wrong</em>.”</p><p>She shuddered, “Only God fucking knows what I would do to them if they were still alive, what <em>Trevor</em> would do to them. If we had stayed… we never would have allowed it to happen, if we had just <em>waited</em>-”</p><p>“Sypha…” Alucard whispered, his voice raspy and hoarse from misuse but making her freeze none the less.</p><p>“Why did you leave me?”</p><p>Hearing herself let out a strangled wail, Sypha turned to wrap herself around the now weeping dhampir, cradling him fiercely. Against him, she felt the hiccups that rattled his whole body as his fingers dug into her waist, blonde hair clouding her vision.</p><p>“We never should have,” Sypha responded immediately. “We <em>never</em> should have left you to mourn on your own. We were foolish and proud and took the victory too close to heart so soon. But I wanted to be reunited with my family so badly, to tell them all what we did and to see my Grandpa and know how proud he would be of me and I was so <em>selfish</em>. Too selfish to realize that the entire time we were leaving behind the one member of our family that made us whole.”</p><p>“Alucard,” she said, pulling away to meet his misty eyes. “Adrian.”</p><p>Adrian’s breath hitched, his entire being shivering with emotion as Sypha stared him down. “We came back because we love you. Because whatever home we were trying to find out there in the world was already here, with <em>you</em>. Because we realized too late what leaving you here by yourself must have done to you. We love you so much, Adrian, and I’m so sorry it took us this long to realize.”</p><p>Pulling the other back into her embrace, tears continued to roll down Sypha’s cheeks as she brushed her fingers through tangled locks of blonde hair. Eventually the two managed to push themselves up into the bed, Adrian taking extra care despite it all to ensure Sypha’s wound was not prodded in the process.</p><p>Settling down, the two faced each other, faces covered in salty streams and snot dripping down their noses. Neither of them had found the other as beautiful than this moment. And though more words would have to be spoken in the morning with a certain other person included, the two drifted off peacefully, holding each other close.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>When Sypha woke up alone, her first thought was that last night had been nothing more than a dream. But waking up in an entirely different room from where she had originally gone to sleep in kind of broke that theory. Except where Adrian had been lying down beside her that night revealed nothing more than an empty space.</p><p>Pushing herself up, Sypha looked around the room and felt a pit in her stomach when she realized she was alone. She had thought…</p><p>Never mind what she thought.</p><p>Leaving the bed, Sypha padded across the floorboards and left the room, closing the door behind her. Sunlight had begun to filter in from the many windows, scattering flakes of dust in the air as she walked. Though Sypha’s heart told her to return to the warm cocoon of the bed she and Trevor were sharing, her stomach rumbled at the idea of food after missing out on dinner that night.</p><p>Taking the stairways down to the kitchen, she breathed in deeply as the smells of bacon, fresh bread and eggs began floating towards her, quickening her pace. Turning the corner, Sypha opened her mouth to say a greeting to Trevor whom she assumed was managing the stove, only to stop short at the sight of Adrian standing there instead, lowly humming to himself as he tended to a sizzling pan.</p><p>Probably hearing her approach, Adrian glanced over his shoulder and sent her a small smile. “Good morning.”</p><p>“Good morning,” Sypha replied automatically.</p><p>“I made you some tea,” he continued, waving a hand towards the kitchen table where indeed, a fresh cup of tea was steaming. “Breakfast shouldn’t take much longer; I hope you don’t mind peppers in your omelette.”</p><p>It took a couple of seconds for Sypha to properly catch up, to realize that last night hadn’t been a dream at all. That instead of the familiar sight of a wolf hiding under the table whenever she would wake up in the morning, Alucard, <em>Adrian</em>, was finally standing in front of her like the first day they met.</p><p>“Sypha?” Adrian asked when she still had not moved, arching an eyebrow in concern.</p><p>Breaking from her daze, Sypha smiled as she walked up to the dhampir, pecking his cheek softly. “Peppers would be lovely, thank you.”</p><p>Feeling smug, Sypha sat down at the table and curled her hands around the warm mug, breathing it in before taking a sip. It took Adrian a couple of seconds to return to Wallachia before remembering to tend to the food, something which Sypha felt a small kick of delight in.</p><p>The two stayed in a peaceful silence for a long time, allowing the noises of breakfast sizzling along with the singing of birds outside to fill in for them. This was it; this was what Sypha never realized she had all along and now that she knows it’s here, she was never going to let go of it.</p><p>‘<em>This is home.</em>’ she thought.</p><p>Finally, their third member appeared at the doorway, grumbly and bed-headed and everything Sypha adored.</p><p>“The ‘ell you doin’ with my bacon, Sypha? You know it’s my turn to make breakfast and- oh.”</p><p>Trevor blinked, and slapped a lazy hand over his face to rub at his eyes before blinking again.</p><p>“Good morning!” Sypha said chipperly, making the other snap his attention to her before returning to Adrian.</p><p>“I wasn’t aware there were shifts for meal preparations,” Adrian smiled cheekily, plating the food onto three plates and carrying them over to the table, “my understanding of it was that whoever woke up first had to cook.”</p><p>“Sypha likes to sleep in a lot…” Trevor grumbled, still staring as Adrian tucked himself into a chair and shared a smile with the magician.</p><p>“There’s fresh tea on the stove if you’d like it,” Adrian responded, offering a few slices of bread to Sypha before digging into his omelette. “And Belmont?”</p><p>Where Trevor had been moving to the counter to pour himself a mug, now stood rigid as he met Adrian’s gaze.</p><p>“Good morning.” The dhampir smiled simply, biting into his food.</p><p>Looking at Sypha, Trevor’s eyes indicated a, ‘<em>what the fuck?</em>’ movement causing her to let out a snort, which she quickly covered up with an exaggerated cough before shrugging.</p><p>“Yeah…” Trevor replied, filling his mug and moving to the table, “morning.”</p><p>Eventually all three of them dug into their breakfast, Sypha seeing in the corner of her eye how close attention Adrian was paying to them as first bites were made.</p><p>“Holy shit,” Trevor suddenly moaned, throwing his head back before lurching forward to take another mouthful of food, “this is fucking delicious.”</p><p>Sypha would have called him out for talking with his mouth full, but even she was finding it hard not to scoff down the meal in front of her. The peppers <em>were</em> delicious, and though Trevor’s knack for cooking a good meal had never failed before even with the little ingredients they had to spare, Adrian’s talents for flavour were mouth-watering.</p><p>“Adrian, this is incredible!” she said, covering her mouth as she did so. Adrian hummed to himself, sinking into his chair with a smile as he cradled his tea. “Then I am glad.”</p><p>The sounds of scraping utensils on plates filled the air until not even a single speck was left behind, plates licked clean as if they were just washed. Stretching his arms above his head, Trevor sighed in content as they fell upon his satisfied stomach. Sypha herself was very much in the same state, allowing her eyes to close and relish in the feeling of having just eaten a fine meal. But of course, the silence could not hold forever.</p><p>“So…” Trevor started, eyes peeking open to watch Adrian, “you’re not a wolf anymore.”</p><p>“… No.”</p><p>“What changed your mind?”</p><p>Sypha sent the man a sharp look as Trevor leaned his arms on the table, “Trevor-” she started, only to pause as Adrian raised a hand.</p><p>“It’s okay Sypha, after all the talking both you and Belmont did last night, I think it’s only right that I be the one to speak for once.”</p><p>“You two talked?” Both Sypha and Trevor said at once, giving each other a look, which only resulted in Adrian chuckling at their antics.</p><p>Sighing, the dhampir leaned back in his chair and rubbed the rim of his mug of tea. Though Sypha knew it would be inappropriate, she had never wanted to hug the other more than in this moment.</p><p>“I wasn’t sure what to do with my life when the two of you left,” Adrian softly began, not meeting either of their gazes. “I know I had joked previously about going back to sleep for a few decades, but after the first few days of living here I started to wonder if it would be such a fate would be so horrible.”</p><p>Both Sypha and Trevor shared a glance, and now even the Speaker reflected Trevor’s position, fingers itching on the table to hold Adrian’s hand. But she knew she couldn’t, not <em>yet</em> anyway.</p><p>“But I had made a promise to you, Trevor Belmont,” he continued, finally meeting the man’s widened eyes, “and so I started to spend my days repairing the Hold, using my father’s technology to improve it so that should anyone need its use in the future, it would be perfectly functionable to support their every need.”</p><p>“But why the Hold?” Trevor interrupted. “I know I kind of dumped the whole thing on you like an asshole before we left but I didn’t mean for you to <em>literally</em> dedicate your immortal life to repairing it.”</p><p>“Trevor!” Sypha warned.</p><p>“No, that’s not what I- look. I’m not saying that I don’t… appreciate what you’ve done to it. Truly, massive improvement, the light, that huge mechanical lift… thingy, whatever. What I’m <em>trying</em> to say is that the castle is your home, isn’t it? Why not start here instead?”</p><p>Adrian was silent for a moment, staring into his tea with a furrowed expression.</p><p>“I think…” he started, before sighing as he placed his mug back onto the table. “I think it was too painful. Every one of these halls in this castle has a memory waiting for me, of times I spent with my mother and father when they were both alive and happy… just seeing them so empty… I couldn’t…”</p><p>Reaching across the table, Sypha watched in surprise as Trevor placed a hand on top of Adrian’s, both of them exchanging an expression of familiarity. “I get it.” Was all he said in response, but still did not take his hand away. Taking a deep breath, Adrian continued.</p><p>“By the time the Hold was as rebuilt as I could make it, there was little else for me to do with my time. I was at my wits end and had no idea how much time had passed, whether it be weeks or months or even years and I… it was then that they came to me.”</p><p>The two straightened, immediately knowing who <em>they</em> were. Sypha watched as Trevor’s hand squeezed Adrian’s, whether for his friend’s benefit or his own.</p><p>“Their names were Sumi and Taka. They were slaves of Chō, one of my father’s generals, and had travelled from Japan to learn how to properly take down vampires. They were hasty, untrained and impulsive and…”</p><p>“And you took them under your wing.” Trevor muttered, though not accusingly.</p><p>Adrian nodded, “I thought that I could help them, teach them. To use the Hold like you told me to so I could teach others how to fight. So I did, and I was proud.”</p><p>He laughed coldly, using his free hand to brush away his hair in frustration. “I was so proud of how far they were coming along. How much they were improving every single day, but they just kept wanting more. Kept wanting me to teach them how to use magic and how to move the castle so they could hunt vampires but I… I didn’t want to. I have no way of performing magic and the idea of moving the castle away if… if either of you returned and I wasn’t there, I just couldn’t. And then one day they had enough.”</p><p>Pulling up his sleeves, Adrian revealed the scarring which traced across his skin, and if Trevor hadn’t been radiating his anger before, Sypha could see that he was downright furious now.</p><p>“Sypha told me that you found the room where it happened. They came to me in the middle of the night and in my weakness, I allowed them to… I didn’t even <em>know</em> they had taken anything from the Hold. One minute everything was perfect and then the next I, I was in so much pain. I couldn’t move- I couldn’t shift. I…” Tears began to roll down his cheeks.</p><p>“They just kept talking about how I had lied to them, that I was using them to my own advantage and that I was just like all the others that had betrayed them before. I didn’t mean to kill them; I <em>swear</em> I didn’t. But they were going to <em>kill</em> me, and I was <em>scared</em> and I just-”</p><p>In an instant, Trevor gently tugged Adrian into his lap and held him, fingers digging into long strands of hair. Adrian’s body shuddered, tears streaming down his face and Sypha stood up not a second later to walk around the table and brush them away.</p><p>The three of them held each other like that for a moment, until Adrian’s breaths had quietened, and his tears flowed slower.</p><p>“What happened was not your fault, Adrian.” Sypha whispered softly, pressing kisses against his forehead which just furrowed in response.</p><p>“But I should have known-!” he tried to rebuke, only for Trevor to cup his tear-streaked face to meet his fierce one.</p><p>“No.” he stated firmly, “You couldn’t have. You gave them <em>everything</em>. A home, food, teachings that people could only ever dream of knowing but they were selfish fuckers. They saw this part of you, a pure, <em>good</em> part of you and they twisted it to their own terms to get what they wanted and Alucard-, <em>Adrian</em>, I cannot tell you enough how fucked that is. They used you and it was wrong and in no fucking circumstance are you the one to be at fault for what happened. You hear me?”</p><p>Adrian’s chin wobbled, tears continuing to drip down his cheeks no matter how many times Sypha or Trevor tried to chase them away.</p><p>“Come on now, princess.” Trevor cooed, leaning forward to kiss just under his eyes, lips coming back salty, “You’re too fucking pretty to cry so much.”</p><p>Snorting grossly, Adrian covered his face and wiped his eyes, looking at them both with pure adoration, “I don’t deserve you, either of you. How could either of you still care for me after all I’d done?”</p><p>“Oh, Adrian.” Sypha smiled, kissing his other cheek. “How could we not? You deserve <em>everything</em>. And we’re going to be here the whole way to show you just how much that’s true.”</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>Adrian was hiding behind a tree, heart pounding and senses sharpening to listen to the space around him. The inevitable days of winter had fallen upon Wallachia once again, and though Adrian’s eyes were keener than most, even he had to second guess himself as he stared at the white snow covering every area, trying to find any movement.</p><p>He had been separated from Trevor and Sypha for several minutes now, and where there were once the loud shrieks of battle now fell to an eerie silence. He had lost them soon after, leaping from tree to tree to get a better advantage on the assailants and to rethink his tactics.</p><p>Crouching down, Adrian slowly began to make his way through the brush, pausing every so often between trees and checking his surroundings for any sign of movement. But the forest was still, the sounds of the wailing wind passing through branches and brushing snow from the ground to land on his leather pants. Reaching a hill, Adrian bent down and stared at the valley below, fingers itching to arm himself.</p><p>
  <em>There!</em>
</p><p>In a red flash, Adrian flattened himself against the back of the tree, ears pricking at the sounds of careful footsteps crunching in the snow just feet below him. Peering around the bark, Alucard narrowed his eyes at the sight of a human male. Their back was hunched and battle-ready stance ready, donning a large black cloak that stood out against the piles of snow around him.</p><p>Adrian would only have one shot at this, one chance to turn the battle into his favour.</p><p>And he was going to <em>take it</em>.</p><p>In a flurry of movement, Adrian reached down and grasped a handful of snow and compiled it into a ball, aiming, and firing the projectile at the man. Impacting upon his neck, Trevor Belmont let out a yell at the cold attack and whirled on the spot, gaping at Adrian who stared at him with a shit eating grin.</p><p>There was a pause, and then the sounds of child-like giggling as the pair fell to the ground to scrounge up more snow, immediately pelting one another with snowballs. Making mad dashes around trees for cover or ducking out of the way of close-shaved throws, the two danced around each other with bright eyes and wide smiles. That is until Trevor threw a snowball directly into Adrian’s face.</p><p>Slipping on a sheet of ice, Adrian let out a cry as the impact slammed him to the ground, curling over onto his side. Hearing Trevor call out his name, Adrian remained still on the ground as the sounds of running footsteps approached him, knees slamming into the snow as Trevor grabbed his shoulder.</p><p>“Adrian! Are you alri-?”</p><p>Grabbing his hand, Adrian held on tight as he rolled over, bringing the other man with him who yelped in surprise. Landing on his back, Trevor groaned as Adrian settled on his pelvis, holding both his hands beside his head with a smile of victory.</p><p>“You cheeky little mother fucker.” Trevor snorted, staring up at him.</p><p>“Nobody said anything about playing fair.”</p><p>“No,” Trevor coyly agreed, cupping Adrian’s nape and bringing him down for a kiss. “No, they didn’t.”</p><p>Relaxing his hold, Adrian’s eyes fluttered shut as he allowed Trevor to lead. The smells of musk and leather filling his senses and sending a shiver of delight down his spine. His lips were soft and gentle, always giving his best and never asking too much of him which made Adrian want to scream into a pillow like a teenage girl with a crush. It always felt like this when Trevor would kiss him, utterly overwhelming and yet so much the opposite since the very first time they embraced one another.</p><p>On a day like any other where Adrian had allowed him to indulge in washing his hair, body just on the verge of ecstasy as nails scratched at his scalp over and over and over until they paused. Adrian hadn’t realized that he had closed his eyes until he opened them, and when he met Trevor’s gaze it was as if the man was looking at him like he had hung up each and every star in the night sky. Capturing him in place as if Adrian were the answer to every question Trevor ever asked, everything he ever needed and then Trevor was kissing him and it was so much, so good, so delicious and-</p><p>Trevor’s hands, which had somehow detangled themselves from Adrian’s hold, were now clutching at his waist, suddenly hoisting him to the side and in an instant, appearing on top of the other as Adrian could do nothing else but gape at him in betrayal.</p><p>“Now <em>that</em>,” he hissed, “was definitely not fair.”</p><p>Grasping a pile of snow, Adrian smacked the other in the face with it, though mindfully, and Trevor let out a bark of laughter and he was rolled over once again. The two continued to wrestle like that, shivering as snow got caught under their shirts and in their boots but battling on to reign as victor over the other. It wasn’t until the next roll suddenly picked up speed that Adrian realized they had managed to unknowingly come across a hill.</p><p>Tumbling down, Adrian and Trevor clutched each other tightly as they rolled, panic subsiding when they quickly reached level ground and eventually came to a stop. Heaving with laughter, Adrian met Trevor’s eyes with open joy, leaning forward to kiss the man only to freeze as a shadow fell upon them.</p><p>“Hello boys,” Sypha smiled, hands raised to magically suspend a mountain pile of snow which hovered over the two dauntingly. “I believe I’ve won this round.”</p><p>Closing her fists, the men could only shout in protest as the snow fell upon them, leaving nothing but mounds making up Trevor and Adrian’s frozen state. Not a second later, Trevor broke from the snow’s hold with a gasp, shivering as snow slid its way under his cloak and down his shirt.</p><p>“Cold!” he shouted, leaping to his feet and patting himself down to shake himself, “Cold! <em>Cold</em>! Fuck! <em>Sypha</em>!”</p><p>Adrian, however, was faring much better. Rising from the snow in an eerie comparison to that of a coffin, the blonde shook his head frantically to dislodge the many patches of ice and snow caught in his hair. Standing up to do the same with his coat, he smiled as Trevor chased a shrieking Sypha around in circles, finally catching up to her and wrapping his arms around her waist to spin her in the air. Sypha’s cries soon dissolved into uncontrollable laughter as Trevor began to tickle her sides, holding on tight as she tried to wiggle out of his grasp.</p><p>Stopping his attack, they panted with wide grins on their faces, looking up as Adrian began to applaud, “Well played. I believe victory goes to you, my dear.”</p><p>“You two were hard to find!” Sypha said, interlocking her fingers with Trevor’s which were wrapped around her waist. “It was as if you two had done all the work for me when I saw you rolling down that hill towards me.”</p><p>“Yes, well. That certainly wasn’t the plan I had in mind when I caught Adrian up there.” Trevor smiled, resting his chin on Sypha’s head.</p><p>“<em>You</em>?” Adrian snorted. “Please, I got you first. You just decided to use an unfair tactic which caused us to roll down the hill in the first place. Besides, for a hunter, you’re awfully terrible at blending in with your surroundings.”</p><p>“Maybe I didn’t <em>want</em> to blend in with my surroundings!” Trevor called back, “<em>Maybe</em> I was just acting as bait so you would come out of your little hidey hole so I could kick your ass!”</p><p>“Boys, boys!” Sypha laughed, “Please, let’s just all agree that I won this round and that neither of you can best me in a snowball fight. Now come on, I’m dying for a hot drink right now.”</p><p>“We did restock on some wine in the village the other week,” Alucard mentioned, walking up the them. “Maybe some warm wine would do the trick?”</p><p>“Ooh,” Sypha sighed wistfully. “That sounds wonderful! Come on, I want to get inside before my toes fall off.”</p><p>“Race you,” Trevor grinned, dropping to the ground to scoop up some snow only to shove it down the back of Sypha’s coat, causing her to squeal.</p><p>“You <em>bastard</em>!” she shouted, turning on the spot to see Trevor already running away laughing his head off. Hopping on one foot, Sypha ripped off her boot and tossed it towards him, the shoe just missing Trevor who simply cackled and continued running.</p><p>“Asshole.”</p><p>Sypha whined, fidgeting to get the snow off her back but always trying her best not to topple into the snow at the same time. Maybe throwing her shoe had been a step too far.</p><p>Pouting, Sypha raised her arms towards Adrian, who rolled his eyes good naturedly but walked up to her anyway. Crouching before her, Sypha thanked him as Adrian picked her up into a piggy-back, confirming with her that she was comfortable before they began their way home; picking up the wet boot as they went.</p><p>Idly picking out the few pieces of snow beginning to melt in Adrian’s hair, Sypha smiled. “So… what did he do?”</p><p>Adrian tilted his head to show he was listening, “Hm?”</p><p>“You know, the “unfair tactic” that you mentioned?”</p><p>Adrian laughed, looking at her over his shoulder, “Stealing ideas now, are we?”</p><p>“Oh please,” Sypha snorted, flapping a hand. “I have enough tricks up my sleeve on how to catch you boys with your pants down. <em>I’m</em> simply curious how Trevor managed to get the better of you!”</p><p>He hummed, readjusting his hold on the magician before responding. “He kissed me.”</p><p>Sypha guffawed, “<em>That</em> was his trick? Just kissing you?”</p><p>“He is a very good kisser.” Was all he replied, the pair now leaving the circle of trees and approaching the castle.</p><p>Sypha hummed. “He <em>is</em> a good kisser…”</p><p>Walking up the steps slowly to avoid any ice, Adrian bent his knees so Sypha could get down safely, acting as a stand for Sypha as she pulled her shoe back on to keep her balance.</p><p>“You want to know who else is a good kisser?” she continued as Adrian pushed open the slightly ajar gate doors. Noticing the few wet footprints on the carpet made by Trevor’s shoes, Adrian shook his head when the trail quickly turned around and led to an abandoned pair of boots left next to the door.</p><p>“Indulge me,” he responded, hanging up his coat on a coat hanger Sypha insisted on installing. He could only imagine how much it would make his mother laugh at the sight of such a thing.</p><p>Feeling Sypha push up against his side, the dhampir turned with a smile and wrapped his arms around her waist, butterflies still buzzing in his stomach at the fact that he could even <em>do that</em>.</p><p>Curling her arms around his neck, Sypha leaned into him and paused just a breaths inch away from his lips.</p><p>“Me.”</p><p>Where Trevor was soft and coaxing, Sypha kissed like she demanded nothing be on Adrian’s mind but herself. Sypha was otherworldly, and so many times Adrian felt like he was going to drown in everything that was her, but knew he was safe.</p><p>He had been the one to kiss Sypha first, emotions overwhelming him when presented with her own creation of an Adrian doll made similar to the ones he had made in his isolation (the same ones both Sypha and Trevor refused to throw out no matter how embarrassed Adrian was about them).</p><p>He was so frustrated with himself afterwards, wanting their first kiss to be something more important. Caused because of something more romantic, something special, but then Sypha had kissed him a second time, and then a third and a fourth until Adrian felt dizzy like Sypha was a liquor he could not get enough of.</p><p>“Hm,” Adrian said when they finally pulled away, still holding one another.</p><p>Sypha raised an eyebrow, though a pinch in her lips showed she was trying not to smile. “Just, hm?”</p><p>“Hmm,” he repeated, slightly more vocal this time making Sypha burst into giggles before moving forward to kiss his cheeks.</p><p>“Come on,” she said, pulling away but taking his hand, “I trust Trevor with a lot of things, but I’m not sure if he knows how to properly heat up wine without ruining it.”</p><p>And Adrian, smiling with content, happily followed after her.</p><p> </p><p>- - -</p><p> </p><p>The wine, thankfully, was not burned when they arrived in the kitchen. Trevor had been snarky, offended by Sypha’s nosing until Adrian finally pulled her away to suggest rearranging the lounge area and to get the fireplace going whilst they waited. Adrian was given a kiss on the cheek for his efforts, so he thought it was an act well done.</p><p>With blankets and pillows piling the floor, Sypha restocked the hearth with fresh logs of wood and reached out a hand to spark the fireplace alight, warming up the room instantly. Settling upon their makeshift comfort, Adrian smiled as Sypha latched on to him, falling back and holding each other as they awaited Trevor’s appearance.</p><p>So much had changed in the past months since Trevor and Sypha made the decision to stay at the castle with him. Efforts to repair the castle were made whilst the weather was still warm, and Sypha decided to put in the effort of creating their own vegetable garden when the constant travels to the nearby village for supplies became too tedious.</p><p>It had even come as a surprise to Adrian when the sleeping arrangement hadn’t changed when he returned to his original form, the pair managing to coax the dhampir into their bedroom without hassle though being open minded of his physical contact limits once settled.</p><p>Even talks about the Hold were brought up, and after some mindful communication with Trevor, the Belmont Hold was becoming less of a hole in the ground and more an addition outside the current construction of a new Belmont home.</p><p>“I already feel pompous enough living in a castle,” Trevor had said after the option of rebuilding the manor to its original state was offered, “but the idea of calling both this place <em>and</em> a manor my home would probably do it in for me.”</p><p>Sypha had been quick to continue the conversation after that, and Adrian will forever be thankful of her because he knew all words would fail him in that moment.</p><p>‘<em>Home,’ </em>was all his mind was thinking about. <em>‘He called this place </em>home.’</p><p>“Hey,” Sypha said, bringing Adrian back to earth, “sit up for a minute.”</p><p>Tilting his head, Adrian raised an eyebrow at her.</p><p>“Just trust me!” she laughed, pushing herself up to stare down at him. “Come on…”</p><p>Following her command, Adrian sat up and crossed his legs, becoming even more confused when Sypha shuffled so she was sat behind him. Feeling her hands come up and begin gathering his many locks of hair, Adrian let out a sigh as Sypha began to gently thread her fingers through, untangling knots and smoothing out clumps of hair.</p><p>Feeling the tension begin to ebb from his shoulders, Sypha began to hum a simple tuneless song to herself as she worked. Braiding his hair had become something of a luxury to her, Trevor being the first one to recommend it after getting some caught under his shoulder one morning. Having no past experience, there came a few trial and errors in Sypha’s first attempts, constantly apologizing for tugging too hard or redoing the entire thing when it looked too lopsided.</p><p>But now she had become something of a natural, and the delightful feeling of being pampered on Adrian’s part only convinced her to keep going.</p><p>“There.” Sypha said, gently using one of Adrian’s longer strands to knot it all together. “Oh, I wish we had some flowers, they looked so pretty in your hair when I would braid it in the summer…”</p><p>Gently tracing his fingers over her work, Adrian gave her a smile of thanks before kissing her gently.</p><p>“Mm, you are too good for me.” He said, making Sypha roll her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug.</p><p>“Nonsense,” she replied, pressing a kiss to his nape, “you just need to be spoiled more.”</p><p>“Who needs to be spoiled more?” Trevor asked, walking into the room with a tray of steaming mugs and a bowl of fruit and nuts.</p><p>“This boy,” Sypha grinned, raising a hand to point at Adrian’s head, “right here.”</p><p>“Ah, complaining once again, is he?” Trevor said, placing the tray on a table and smiling at Adrian’s scoff.</p><p>“I’m not <em>complaining-</em>”</p><p>“No, no. You are.” The man continued as he placed the bowl onto one of the many blankets surrounding them, “The good news is that I know the best way to get you <em>not</em> to complain.”</p><p>Adrian raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what’s-?”</p><p>Distantly, Adrian heard Sypha let out a loud laugh as Trevor pressed his lips firmly to Adrian’s, immediately cutting off whatever the dhampir was going to say.</p><p>Feeling him pull away, Adrian tried his best to scowl at Trevor’s grin, only to get kissed on the button of his nose for his efforts. Moving to kiss Sypha over his shoulder, Trevor finally retreated to grab two of the mugs, passing them over before grabbing his own.</p><p>Rearranging themselves so Adrian was in the middle, the trio stared into the warm flames as they each took a sip of their drinks. Feeling Sypha rest her head against his arm whilst Trevor linked his hand with his own, Adrian felt a bloom of happiness in his stomach, knowing that these two wonderful beings loved him with their whole hearts. Knowing he loved them just as much. Reaching into the slit of his shirt, Adrian fiddled with the ring from his father which he now wore around his neck on a chain.</p><p>After several long months, Adrian knew that he was going to continue to be this happy for a very long time.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading!</p><p>I'm on Tumblr as <a href="https://forsmanus.tumblr.com/">ForsManus</a><br/>Also on Twitter as <a href="https://twitter.com/ForsManus">ForsManus</a></p><p>Have a great day, remember you're important, and don't forget to treat yourself :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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